Vivian Tu - "Your Rich BFF" & Author of Rich AF | The Ex-Wall Street Trader With 8 Million Followers Says the Old Money Rules Are Dead
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Vivian Tu, known to millions as "Your Rich BFF," is a former Wall Street trader turned personal finance educator whose candid, jargon-free approach to money has built her a following of over 10 million people. She's the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Rich AF and Well Endowed, SoFi's first Chief of Financial Empowerment, host of the Networth and Chill podcast, a TED speaker, and the founder of Ask Dolly, an AI-powered personal finance app. Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and the TIME100 Creators list, her mission is simple: make financial literacy less intimidating and more inclusive, especially for women and young people who've been left out of the money conversation for too long.
➡️ Show Links
https://www.instagram.com/your.richbff/
https://www.youtube.com/yourrichbff
https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviantu-yourrichbff
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➡️ Talking Points
00:00 – Intro
04:23 – Has the Money Advice Changed?
07:10 – What to Do When You’re Broke
11:13 – Don’t Let the News Panic You
12:44 – Why We’re Gambling More
15:40 – The Old Money Playbook Is Dead
16:31 – Meet Ask Dolly
20:57 – Why Financial Advice Feels Broken
22:21 – When AI Needs a Human Expert
26:18 – Sponsor Break
30:27 – The Danger of AI Financial Advice
32:26 – Why Vivian Built a Business, Not a Course
37:22 – Building an $8M Creator Business
39:03 – How Creators Should Start
40:48 – Why Delegation Is So Hard
46:44 – Why Money Decisions Get Messy
48:45 – Sponsor Break
52:01 – Can You Afford to Have Kids?
55:40 – Money vs. Biology
58:15 – Don’t Let Others Decide Your Life
1:01:24 – The Sandwich Generation
1:03:42 – What to Do After a Layoff
1:04:40 – How to Future-Proof Your Career
1:07:47 – Why Money Is a Stamina Game
1:10:39 – The Worst Money Advice
1:11:40 – How to Start Investing
1:15:06 – The Future of Money
1:17:38 – Where to Find Vivian
1:17:54 – Vivian’s Final Advice
WEBVTT
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Last time you were on, you taught everybody how to get rich.
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It has been a brutal 18 months.
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Has the advice changed at all?
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The advice hasn't changed, but the ecosystem has.
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The cost of living has only continued to rise.
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AI has only gotten bigger and grander.
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Today's guest is Vivian Tu, better known as your Rich BFF.
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A former Wall Street trader turned entrepreneur and financial educator, she built a massive platform helping people understand money, investing, and building wealth.
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In this conversation, she shares practical advice on making better financial decisions and navigating money in a changing world.
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What is the thing that you have to tell them that they really have to take to heart right now?
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You got to increase what's coming in the door and decrease what's going out.
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You can only control you.
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What do you think AI should be used for and AI should not be used for?
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AI shouldn't really be used for regulated industries like law, medicine, finance.
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You should not be uploading your bank statements into ChatGPT.
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MyFitnessPal is a success story partner.
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Now, there's this thing that happens when you start paying attention to what you eat.
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And I think we can all agree that we wanna care about our health and our wellness and our nutrition, but more often than not, we just kind of think we eat clean, we think we eat healthy, but we're not really, really paying attention to every single meal and what makes up
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every single meal.
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But just by paying attention and starting to log and track what you eat, you start making better choices without really trying.
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And that surprised me because when I first started using the MyFitnessPal app and I've been using it for a while now, it's a nutrition tracking app, and I started logging what I was eating, it started showing me my macros, which means how much protein, carbs, and fats I was getting.
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And then I started to understand why some days I felt good, high energy.
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Some days I felt like garbage because those three things, proteins, carbs, fats, that's what your food is made out of.
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And the balance between them affects everything.
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So my Fitness Pal app truly changed my life when it came to managing my food, which managed and helped everything else.
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Now on the premium version of the app, it breaks down those numbers by meal.
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So I'm not just seeing one calorie number for the day.
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I can see what's happening at breakfast versus lunch versus dinner, where my protein actually lands, whether I'm eating enough earlier in the day or piling everything on at night.
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And all of a sudden,
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When I'm crashing at 3, 4 p.m., well, I can take a look and see it's not so surprising anymore based on what I ate or what I didn't eat.
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So that's what I mean when I say that MyFitnessPal is a great app for awareness.
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It's not obsessive.
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It's not stressful.
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It's not time consuming.
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It's actually the opposite.
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Guessing is stressful.
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When you have all the information, the food you eat, your nutrition becomes way easier to keep up with.
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Also, a lot of people stress out that logging food is going to be very time consuming.
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It's not.
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And if it was annoying, I'd stop.
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But what I love about the app is that they've made it super, super simple.
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They've removed all friction in food logging, right?
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They have the largest food database out there.
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So whatever I'm eating is already in it.
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I can voice log so I can just say what I'm eating.
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They have a barcode scanner that handles all the package stuff.
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They have a tool called meal scan, which lets me point my camera at my plate and it breaks down all the macros and then logs it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever.
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And the app remembers my regular meals.
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And I'm really just in and out of the app in seconds.
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And on top of that, it connects with over 40 fitness apps and wearables.
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So my workouts, my nutrition, they're all in one place.
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See, food is the foundation of everything.
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your energy, your sleep, your weight, your recovery, your performance, at work, at home.
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And I really believe that when you start to pay attention to what you eat, every single part of your life improves.
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And to be honest, for me, it's the most useful tool because when I see the information, when I see what I'm eating,
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and I feel the effects of having good nutrition and good food at the right time, the decisions on what to eat become obvious.
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Not because someone told me to eat better, it's because I have the data.
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And the data makes it super, super easy to stay on track.
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So please do yourself a favor, go to podcast.myfitnesspal.com and use code SCOTT.
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That's S-C-O-T-T, all uppercase letters, for 15% off MyFitnessPal Premium.
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That is podcast.myfitnesspal.com, code SCOTT for 15% off.
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MyFitnessPal Premium.
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So Vivian, last time you were on, you taught everybody how to get rich.
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It has been a brutal 18 months.
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And I went back and checked.
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It was 18 months since the last episode.
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So layoffs, tariffs, $4 gas.
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Has the advice changed at all?
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The advice hasn't changed, but the ecosystem has.
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Now we've got a little bit more of an inflation problem, even more than before.
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The cost of living has only continued to rise, except now we're very seriously on potentially the precipice of an official war.
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The fact that AI has only gotten bigger and grander and become more and more of a part of our general ecosystem, I think, is a big conversation point as well.
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But I don't think the advice has changed.
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I just think that we need to have a real come to Jesus moment of like...
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How are we actually going to help the everyday person?
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I think it's pretty abysmal, the job that we have done as a country, as a community, of actually taking care of the middle class.
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And the shrinking middle class is truly probably my biggest concern.
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Because when you don't have families that can afford a vacation a year, that can afford to go out to eat, that can afford to make discretionary purchases, like...
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The music stops.
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Like the game is over then.
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Right.
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It can't just be the teeny tiny top sliver of folks have every dollar on earth and everybody else has nothing.
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Businesses can't run that way.
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what's stressful to me because I know how people react.
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And when things are stressful, no one thinks like, like there's not more level headedness when you're stressed out, right?
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You make worse financial decisions because you're already scared.
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So everything you're doing is like a knee jerk reaction to your already precarious, slightly shitty situation.
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And it creates this flywheel of bad stuff happening for the average person.
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Absolutely.
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I think the most dangerous person is the one who has nothing to lose.
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I think the person who makes the poorest decisions is the one that's been backed into a corner.
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And so to your exact point of the flywheel of like, yeah, people are going to start doing stuff that is out of character.
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That is probably a little erratic that may be considered like morally ambiguous to try and make ends meet.
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And I think that's really, really a concern that we need to be talking about.
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So the advice hasn't changed, but maybe the message has to be a little bit stronger.
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So if somebody is stressed out, not in a great financial situation, they feel like they can't keep their head above water.
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Let's just start with that.
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What is the thing that you have to tell them that they really have to take to heart right now?
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I think simply put, you got to increase what's coming in the door and decrease what's going out.
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There are so many things, by the way, like before we even get into that, for that person to be mad about.
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Government hasn't taken care of the middle class.
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You know, there's crazy macro economic things happening.
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But you can only control you.
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And so I implore everybody listening to take care.
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that piece of personal accountability.
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I'm not saying it's not hard.
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I'm not saying it's fair.
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I'm not saying it's right.
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But I'm saying you can only do what you can do.
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And so what you should be doing is increasing what's coming in and decreasing what's going out.
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And that is two major things.
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It's
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picking up a side hustle, getting a different higher paying job.
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It's asking for that raise and promotion at work.
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It's finding some sort of way to build ownership, whether that's buying a business that is cash flowing, whether that is, you know, building something that is going to make you money.
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Like you have to make more money.
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You have to get more money coming in the door.
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That's step one.
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And then step two is we actually really, really need to look at our expenses.
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This is not for the people who are living hand to mouth.
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Like, truly, if you are paycheck to paycheck, if all of your money is going towards food and rent, I'm not talking to you.
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But I will see some people complaining about how they don't have enough money with hair done, nails are done, like lashes are done.
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Where did you get the money for that?
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Also, I see people complaining about the cost of grocery prices.
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Like...
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why are you at the liquor store every weekend?
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I see people who are like, life has gotten so unmanageable, I can't afford anything.
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You know what would be a great idea right now?
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Maybe we should have a baby.
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Maybe don't.
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Maybe don't.
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I know that's kind of a shitty thing to say out loud, but you have to know what your current market conditions are and whether or not the decisions you're making are actually going to be advantageous.
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And so I would say...
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You got to cut back.
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There are things you don't need.
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How do you really make it bare bones so that you can build this pile of money to one, potentially take care of you in the future because you're going to need that savings if something bad happens.
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But two, when you get to a point, how can we take that money and buy stuff, buy ownership, have stuff like investments that are actually going to earn you money?
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Everything you're saying about.
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even if it sucks and it's not your fault, you still gotta deal with it.
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Yeah.
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And that's a hard message, but when you get over the fact that life can be unfair sometimes and you do just deal with it, meaning you learn a new skill or you save a little bit of money to invest into a business that creates wealth for you or you take the time to apply for a better job.
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Like when you get over the negativity and you just take action,
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It's not easy, but if you do that for a long enough period of time, things do end up looking a lot better.
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My favorite phrase is yes and.
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So like, you know, the economy sucks.
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Yes and.
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What?
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What are you going to do about that?
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You can't change the ecosystem unless, you know, obviously through small choices of like voting a certain way or making sure that people who are your representatives actually represent your interests.
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Sure.
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Yes, that is a long, long con.
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That's a long game.
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But what are you doing tomorrow?
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What are you actually doing to make your family's life better?
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And when you start to realize that no one's really coming to save you except you.
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No one is coming to save you.
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No one is coming to save you.
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You get thousands of DMs, and we're going to talk about what that led to.
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But I'm curious if you noticed a shift in what people are DMing you more recently.
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Yeah, I think...
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When I started Your Rich BFF five years ago, it was more so basic budgeting, basic saving, basic investing.
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But now every question I get is typically tied to a news headline.
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People are very worried.
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Two things.
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One, let us remind everyone that news companies, media companies job is to get you to click.
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So every headline is going to be more salacious, more outlandish, more scary than it probably needs to be.
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I'm not saying that they aren't scary.
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They are.
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But like, first off, just regulate your nervous system and recognize that this article was written a certain way to get you to click.
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That, you know, that video of warfare was positioned a certain way to get you to click.
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So just first pause.
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And then the second thing is, is like the questions that I am getting, a lot of it has to do with like economic uncertainty and questions of like, how are these things going to impact me?
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How do I prepare?
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It almost feels like a little bit of...
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prepperism, like, you know, the doomsday preppers, except they're prepping for an uncertain economy.
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Do you see people making poor financial decisions because of news that has no impact on them whatsoever?
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Not necessarily news that doesn't impact them, but what they're seeing.
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So people will make poor financial decisions when the main goal feels out of reach.
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So when we're seeing
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interest rates stay high, but housing prices continue to rise or, you know, um,
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fewer people can afford a home, like fewer people are investing, more people are sports gambling, all of these things.
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Like it's starting to feel like we're losing the plot.
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Right.
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And the plot historically our parents taught us was you would work hard.
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You put your head down.
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Good education.
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Good job.
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Climb the ladder.
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You will be able to buy a single family home on Wisteria Lane, white picket fence.
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You get your two and a half kids, your golden retriever with a tire swing
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and when that vision of that happily ever after, that life is no longer available to you, what are you going to do?
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Well, might as well get that PS5.
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Might as well get that little lip gloss.
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Why not go on one of these gambling sites where you bet on these ridiculous events?
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Maybe that tiny glimmer of hope, if you do hit, then that dream is available to you again.
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And so I think we have now, again, turned...
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our economy into a casino.
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So again, the rich get richer, the poor get poor, and everything's a little bit of a gamble.
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And I think people don't want to hear that the strategy is slow and steady.
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I saw a video the other day on TikTok.
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It was a guy who was like...
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If starting at 18, you put away $500 a month and you invest it, finally, at the time when I am 60 and my bones are aching and I am decrepit and I can't do anything, I will have $5 million and be able to spend all of my time at the hospital.
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And like that was the bit.
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He was like saying that that advice was bad.
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And I always like to respond to that like, okay, so don't do it.
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Now you're 60 and decrepit and in a hospital and you don't have shit.
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Who's taking care of you now?
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And things are about to get real dark for you.
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I'd rather have $5 million and need it than not have $5 million and need it.
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And so I think the attitude has become so all or nothing, so black or white, when life is gray.
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Like, yes, I encourage everybody to make smart financial decisions.
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That's not me saying you can't go get yourself a coffee and that you can't get a little treat.
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I love a little treat.
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Nobody loves a little treat more than me.
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But...
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Do you need a little treat every day?
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Do you need to forego your bigger goals for those little treats?
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I don't think so.
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I think that the playbook that our parents subscribe to doesn't exist the same way it used to.
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Pensions don't exist.
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Security doesn't exist.
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Job security doesn't exist.
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Coupled with social media, instant gratification, people showing these ridiculously...
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you know, overnight success stories that are obviously fake or not overnight successes.
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I think that has just screwed up the average person's perception of what success is, how long we're on this earth.
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It's screwed up your patience.
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It's screwed up your, your ability to take things slow and steady.
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And I think this is what's creating like everybody being depressed and having massive amounts of anxiety and that leading to really poor financial choices amongst other things.
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Um,
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I mentioned that you get so many DMs because you actually turned your DMs into a product, which is Ask Dolly.
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And that's out now.
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Short for a dollar.
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I was going to ask what that actually is.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Ask Dolly, short for a dollar.
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When somebody is stressed out about money, when somebody doesn't know how to save, how to build wealth, what is Ask Dolly actually doing for them?
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Yeah.
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So, you know, I mentioned I get a lot of DMs about money and I realized a lot of the questions people were asking me were not...
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so cut and dry is like, you know, yes or no.
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It depended on how much money they had, what their family looked like, what their goals were, everything.
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And I was like, well, I can't get back to all of these people and I don't know all of this information.
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And so I built Ask Dolly as essentially a holistic financial wellness tool.
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You are able to connect your accounts in the same way that you go in for your annual physical and they do the blood work and they're like,
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okay, your sugars look really good, but cholesterol is looking a little high.
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So we need to make sure you get on this medication or you start doing this one thing in your life.
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You got to change part of your diet.
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Exact same way.
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Ask Dolly connects using Plaid, same way that you would for like a Venmo.
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And it actually showcases what your strengths are and where your weaknesses are so that we can then give you guidance on what to do.
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So, hey, you're doing a really good job saving.
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You actually might have too much in savings.
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Let's put some of that into an investment account.
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Or, hey, you're doing a really great job in saving, but let's also focus on paying down some of that high interest rate debt.
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We'll make out a debt plan for you.
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And so Ask Dolly really helps you understand your money better.
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And it also allows you to ask your money questions on demand 24-7.
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And that's powered through reputable sources.
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So we're making sure that you're not getting anything from like, you know,
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daytrading.com or like anything sketchy.
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But if you have a question that's too pointed, that's too personalized, we connect you one-on-one with a human CFP who can actually provide you financial advice.
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Like, you know, all those gurus are like, this is not financial advice.
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We are a registered investment advisor.
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It was a high priority for me to make sure that that was the case.
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This is not, you know, some fancy schmancy guru with a cape in front of it.
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This is actually financial advice.
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We have professionals that are licensed to speak to you.
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And last but not least, we also do a breakdown of news.
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When I see a headline, my first question is always like,
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What the hell that got to do with me?
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Well, we're going to answer that question of, hey, this is how tariffs are going to impact you depending on how much money you make every year.
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Or, hey, the Federal Reserve just said that interest rates were raised.
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What does that mean for you?
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Probably not that much if you already own a home, own a car and have what you need.
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But if you're about to go apply for a student loan, you're about to go apply for a car note.
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That might mean something to you.
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Or, hey, you wanted to go get a personal loan.
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That definitely means something for you.
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And so we are able to give you personalized information based on what you share with us.
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And that way, every single person can feel like they can take me, squish me really small and put me in their pockets.
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I think that's so smart because all of the things we're talking about, all the bad behaviors, it's probably because of lack of knowledge.
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That's really it at the end of the day.
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Why are you stressed about whatever's happening in the news when it doesn't actually apply to you?
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Why are you going on X company and betting on whatever's happening if somebody's going to say something in a speech next week when really you should be putting out money towards something that actually matters, right?
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I think that
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If people just get access to more information about good practices, also understand their own personal situation better, because I don't think many people actually do understand where they're at financially.
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And also understand how news impacts them as opposed to just hearing something and getting freaked out about it.
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It's like you are regulating their financial nervous system.
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Yes.
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To a degree.
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That's the way that I see it.
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I want people to feel that way.
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I don't want them to be panicked making rash decisions, selling their entire portfolio.
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I want them to be like, OK, I have enough.
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And because of that, I can make a smart choice.
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I can make a smart decision that's going to play for me long term.
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When you first posted about this, 30,000 people put their hand up and said, yes, I want this.
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I'm curious why there is nothing else that is filling this gap in the market.
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Oh, there is.
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I'm certainly not the first person to try to build something like this.
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Problem is, the other people that have built it are banks, or they are financial advisors, or they are brokerages.
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And guess what?
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They don't necessarily have the same type of trust that I've already built with my audience.
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It's like, would you trust a credit card company to tell you what the best credit card is?
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Like, never.
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I would never trust a credit card company.
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Like, don't don't trust you because you're going to tell me your product is the best.
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Whereas like I this is unbiased.
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There is no reason for me to lie to you about it.
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Like with Ask Dolly, instead of needing to make sure that we are pushing product, we charge a manageable subscription fee.
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There's a free tier.
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There is a $20 a month option and a $60 a month option.
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And so that really means for $20 a month, you're able to access financial guidance in a way that was completely roped off from you for decades because you had to have six figures of net worth to actually even get in the door.
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What's the point where AI can actually answer a question responsibly?
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versus when it should actually go to a human.
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So that's probably the first thought that I would have.
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Okay, I'm giving you all my financial information.
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You're sort of looking at my portfolio, all of my accounts, you're looking at the news.
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You kind of know what I'm spending money on.
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When should I listen to that AI?
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And when should I be like, no, no, this is a very complicated thing that I'm dealing with.
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I need a CFP.
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Yeah, we actually will route you based on the type of question.
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And I think the greatest delineation is like financial knowledge and guidance versus financial advice.
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Yeah.
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There is a right or wrong answer of, should I use a Roth IRA versus an IRA?
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Like there is a correct answer based on what tax bracket you're currently in and based on what tax bracket you think you'll be closer to retirement.
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There is a correct answer.
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That is easy for us to be able to get you the right information based on what we know about you, based on reputable sources, and get that to you.
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Easy, quick.
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Now, the question is,
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hey, so I'm thinking about converting the dollars in my IRA to a Roth IRA because I live in this tax jurisdiction.
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It won't be as expensive to do this year.
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It might be more expensive to do next year because of these reasons.
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Oh, by the way, the reason I'm even thinking about this is because I'm starting a family or I'm trying to sell my business and I'd like to retire by this age.
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That's a question we want to direct you to a CFP.
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And I say CFP specifically because they are all licensed fiduciaries to be on the CFP board.
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And so it's just very, very important to me that whoever is speaking to BFFs who are using this is actually licensed to do so and has to have your best interests at heart.
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Do you see, I mean, you've already sort of pointed out where with Ask Dolly, like, AI can help and where humans have to sort of engage.
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Do you see, just for people that are, like, thinking about AI for other parts of their, you know, finances, taxes, for example, you obviously have a front row seat to this.
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What do you think AI should be used for and AI should not be used for, for other things outside of Ask Dolly?
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Yeah, I think...
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AI shouldn't really be used for regulated industries like law, medicine, finance as like major public LLMs.
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You should not be uploading your bank statements into banks.
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chat GPT.
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Like, that's not smart.
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You should not be uploading your medical records to a random LLM.
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People are doing this.
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No, people are doing this and they're being leaked.
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Like, there is a certain level of encryption.
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There's a certain level of, like, you know, record keeping.
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There's a certain level of anonymity.
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Like, even on our back end, like, our software engineers cannot see people.
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Yeah.
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identifiable personal information because we have made it so.
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Because when you have a certain designation and certain licenses, you have to abide by certain rules.
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So I would just say AI should be used when...
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You are looking to have routine, rote, like things that can be improved in your business or in your life.
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Sure.
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But if normally you would have gone to somebody who has to have a certain license to practice.
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So...
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Lawyers have to pass the bar.
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Medical doctors have to get their doctorates.
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They have to pass the boards.
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They have to do whatever.
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Financial advisors, CFPs, whatever, have to pass certain licensing exams.
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Like, I would not use AI, a tool that is not licensed in any of those categories, for something that usually requires that.
367
00:26:18.554 --> 00:26:21.056
Life at the Speed of Play is a success story partner.
368
00:26:21.096 --> 00:26:24.057
Now, this is a book by Mark Pincus, the guy who founded Zynga.
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I've actually had him on the show.
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I met him in person.
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And Reid Hoffman wrote the foreword, calling him one of the best idea people in Silicon Valley.
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The book is Life at the Speed of Play, Launch Products People Love.
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About 170 pages.
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00:26:36.945 --> 00:26:38.446
It's already a national bestseller.
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It's his framework.
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or figuring out whether an idea is actually worth going after before you put serious time and money into it.
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Not theory the way he actually does it.
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And he's repeatedly built successful businesses.
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On top of that, you can read it in a weekend.
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00:26:50.951 --> 00:26:54.032
It can change your entire life and give you the right direction if you're an entrepreneur.
381
00:26:54.052 --> 00:26:59.213
So right now, if you go to getmarksbook.com slash success, you get two copies for $32.
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00:26:59.433 --> 00:27:00.694
That's $16 each.
383
00:27:01.074 --> 00:27:07.396
Mark is paying for the second copy himself because he wants you to give it to somebody, a friend who's been sitting on an idea, someone who needs to push, whoever.
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That's getmarksbook.com slash success.
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00:27:10.658 --> 00:27:12.319
Mark with a K. Buy one.
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Second one's free.
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Odoo is a success story partner.
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And remember that is pronounced O-do.
389
00:27:17.262 --> 00:27:21.144
Now I want to tell you something that happened to me recently that I think a lot of you will relate to.
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00:27:21.425 --> 00:27:24.667
I was trying to send a quote to a client and this should be simple, right?
391
00:27:24.787 --> 00:27:28.829
Except the pricing was in one tool and the contact info was in another tool.
392
00:27:29.149 --> 00:27:31.631
And the last conversation that we had was in a third tool.
393
00:27:31.811 --> 00:27:35.633
And then I spent something like 20 minutes pulling it all together for one quote.
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And that's the thing.
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Each tool works fine on its own.
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The problem is that they don't talk to each other.
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00:27:41.697 --> 00:27:44.378
So you become the person connecting everything.
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You become the integration.
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00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:49.821
You're the one copying numbers between tabs and making sure everything matches.
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00:27:49.981 --> 00:27:51.642
But that's what Odoo fixes.
401
00:27:51.843 --> 00:27:54.044
It puts everything on one platform.
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00:27:54.124 --> 00:28:03.229
So I'm talking accounting, invoicing, CRM, inventory, HR, project management, your website, e-commerce, e-signatures, over 45 apps, all connected.
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When something happens in one place, every other place already knows about it.
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00:28:07.592 --> 00:28:10.273
So you're not updating three systems every time you close a deal.
405
00:28:10.673 --> 00:28:12.695
And the pricing is the part that surprised me.
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00:28:12.715 --> 00:28:16.377
The first app is free for life, unlimited users, hosting included.
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00:28:16.797 --> 00:28:19.519
One subscription after that unlocks everything else.
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00:28:19.819 --> 00:28:24.061
So if you're spending your time connecting tools instead of actually doing the work you have to do, go check it out.
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Links in the show notes.
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My Fitness Pal is a success story partner.
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00:28:27.305 --> 00:28:27.985
Now, a quick story.
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A few weeks ago, I was in the middle of a very heavy recording week.
413
00:28:30.809 --> 00:28:32.871
So five episodes back to back.
414
00:28:33.192 --> 00:28:34.513
By Wednesday, I could feel it.
415
00:28:34.593 --> 00:28:41.602
I felt tired and I pulled up my food log in the My Fitness Pal app and I could see why I felt tired.
416
00:28:41.802 --> 00:28:43.564
I was heavily under eating.
417
00:28:44.125 --> 00:28:45.547
I was not keeping up with my meals.
418
00:28:45.827 --> 00:28:48.431
My macros were all off on weeks like that.
419
00:28:48.591 --> 00:28:55.381
Staying on top of your fuel and your food and what you eat is the difference between being sharp on episode five and being flat.
420
00:28:55.541 --> 00:28:58.365
And that's the kind of thing you only catch when you're paying attention.
421
00:28:58.545 --> 00:28:59.547
And that's why I keep logging.
422
00:28:59.767 --> 00:29:02.589
every single meal I eat in the MyFitnessPal app.
423
00:29:02.610 --> 00:29:04.371
It's not because I'm obsessing over numbers.
424
00:29:04.691 --> 00:29:10.176
It's not because I'm trying to diet, because I'm trying to have an awareness about what I eat in the day.
425
00:29:10.396 --> 00:29:13.338
And the app makes it so easy to maintain that awareness.
426
00:29:13.419 --> 00:29:16.061
I can point my camera at a plate with MealScan
427
00:29:16.481 --> 00:29:20.622
It'll tell me exactly what I'm eating, all my macronutrients, proteins, fats, carbs.
428
00:29:20.822 --> 00:29:22.443
There's an intermittent fasting tracker.
429
00:29:22.883 --> 00:29:30.706
If I want an intermittent fast, it keeps my eating window honest, and it all syncs with my watch and all of my fitness apps, and it just runs in the background.
430
00:29:31.046 --> 00:29:34.547
See, food is a foundation for energy, sleep, recovery, performance.
431
00:29:34.827 --> 00:29:37.608
It is the one input that you cannot skip.
432
00:29:37.848 --> 00:29:40.289
So do yourself a favor, track what you're eating,
433
00:29:40.649 --> 00:29:44.031
It'll make you feel better, perform better in everything that you do.
434
00:29:44.071 --> 00:29:50.634
Go to podcasts.myfitnesspal.com and use code SCOTT, all uppercase, for 50% off MyFitnessPal premium.
435
00:29:50.914 --> 00:29:54.115
That's podcasts.myfitnesspal.com, code SCOTT.
436
00:29:54.395 --> 00:29:59.138
You probably see some horror stories because I've heard of a lot of legal issues where people upload...
437
00:30:00.719 --> 00:30:03.460
like everything to Claude or chat GPT.
438
00:30:03.821 --> 00:30:09.905
And then there was something about it being discoverable in court because it's not underprivileged, because you actually didn't give it to a lawyer.
439
00:30:09.925 --> 00:30:11.346
You just gave it to an LLM.
440
00:30:11.366 --> 00:30:19.612
You've never seen those like old timey like movies where somebody is trying to talk to their lawyer friend and their lawyer friends like, give me a dollar, give me a dollar.
441
00:30:20.032 --> 00:30:27.417
And then and then suddenly that lawyer can't be like grabbed, subpoenaed as a witness because they are your lawyer.
442
00:30:27.637 --> 00:30:27.957
Yeah.
443
00:30:28.497 --> 00:30:30.038
So same same difference in finance.
444
00:30:30.558 --> 00:30:35.281
So you see you probably see people making huge mistakes using AI for their finances.
445
00:30:35.441 --> 00:30:35.941
A hundred percent.
446
00:30:36.001 --> 00:30:38.822
Are people like trusting AI to do their taxes?
447
00:30:38.902 --> 00:30:40.403
And I'd hope not.
448
00:30:41.123 --> 00:30:43.164
You know, someone has to get a CPA to do your taxes.
449
00:30:43.184 --> 00:30:43.744
I know that.
450
00:30:43.764 --> 00:30:47.586
But I'm just wondering, like, what what crazy stories have you seen?
451
00:30:47.606 --> 00:30:51.268
Because people probably tell you the all their financial issues.
452
00:30:51.788 --> 00:30:52.148
Yeah.
453
00:30:52.248 --> 00:30:59.272
Well, I just think that the problem is, is like oftentimes the way AIs are built, like they're very complimentary.
454
00:30:59.852 --> 00:31:02.313
So you're going to tell them what you're doing and they're going to be like, you're on the right track.
455
00:31:02.473 --> 00:31:03.934
You might not be the gaslighting.
456
00:31:04.094 --> 00:31:05.335
You might not be actually.
457
00:31:06.515 --> 00:31:15.520
You know, I think I've heard of stories where people are using this and then there are some sort of data breach or there are some sort of I mean, what was it recently?
458
00:31:15.580 --> 00:31:18.041
You could like Google chat histories.
459
00:31:18.061 --> 00:31:18.161
Yeah.
460
00:31:18.846 --> 00:31:19.706
That were publicly shared.
461
00:31:19.726 --> 00:31:20.367
That were publicly shared.
462
00:31:20.387 --> 00:31:29.411
I'm like, I don't want my chat – first off, like, I don't want my chat history or my Google history or any of the embarrassing things that I'm doing on the internet to be found.
463
00:31:30.212 --> 00:31:34.594
Because sometimes it's literally, like, the most basic questions that I'm, like, embarrassed I'm Googling.
464
00:31:35.074 --> 00:31:39.496
But, like, I do think that we have to be mindful of, like –
465
00:31:41.514 --> 00:31:43.175
This conversation is not privileged.
466
00:31:43.835 --> 00:31:48.718
Like you don't have the same protections and rights that you might when actually working with a professional.
467
00:31:48.838 --> 00:31:49.398
Of course not.
468
00:31:49.498 --> 00:31:51.259
I just wish more people would realize that before.
469
00:31:51.789 --> 00:31:53.210
Before they start doing really scary stuff.
470
00:31:53.230 --> 00:31:57.852
Actually, this is, I mean, in all seriousness, I really respect what you've built because you've done it properly.
471
00:31:57.872 --> 00:32:00.473
You also have like licensed individuals.
472
00:32:00.854 --> 00:32:04.696
You have a point where it's like it is no longer a question we can give you an AI answer for now.
473
00:32:04.716 --> 00:32:08.518
It goes to the licensed CFP.
474
00:32:09.198 --> 00:32:10.999
But so it's like this nice little ecosystem.
475
00:32:11.779 --> 00:32:25.117
of like okay so we're gonna route you over here we're gonna route you over here we're gonna give you the news we're gonna tell you what it means for you it's like it it just feels like a safe place for people to use ai for finance properly in a world of people are probably not using ai for finance properly at all um
476
00:32:26.780 --> 00:32:30.623
I'm more curious because I know I'm a fellow creator.
477
00:32:33.005 --> 00:32:36.068
I'm curious why you chose to take your business in this direction.
478
00:32:37.048 --> 00:32:46.636
And I wanna just reference sort of the most recent Forbes number that they put on your business saying that you make roughly 8.2 million this year.
479
00:32:47.737 --> 00:32:49.398
So wildly successful creator already.
480
00:32:49.418 --> 00:32:49.999
So congrats.
481
00:32:50.899 --> 00:32:53.020
But you chose purposely to build Ask Dolly.
482
00:32:53.040 --> 00:32:55.562
You chose to not take investor money either.
483
00:32:56.042 --> 00:32:58.203
So you put your own money into this.
484
00:32:59.004 --> 00:33:06.028
So at this point as a creator, as an operator in your own business, what was the thought process as to, okay, where am I going to go next?
485
00:33:06.068 --> 00:33:06.889
What am I going to build?
486
00:33:06.929 --> 00:33:07.129
I mean…
487
00:33:07.609 --> 00:33:11.391
We all know a ton of creators that launch courses, God forbid, courses and courses.
488
00:33:11.431 --> 00:33:12.712
And I don't think you've ever done that ever.
489
00:33:12.772 --> 00:33:13.352
No, never.
490
00:33:13.592 --> 00:33:20.977
I don't think I actually know too many creators that hit, you know, hit close to eight figures without selling a course.
491
00:33:21.037 --> 00:33:22.497
I think that's actually really, really rare.
492
00:33:23.718 --> 00:33:25.219
So congrats again.
493
00:33:25.619 --> 00:33:28.921
But when you think about how you evolve your business as a creator, what was the thought process?
494
00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:34.121
Well, to your exact point, everybody was, you know, asking, when are you going to launch a course?
495
00:33:34.141 --> 00:33:35.081
When are you going to teach a course?
496
00:33:35.101 --> 00:33:37.322
When are you going to sell something like masterclass?
497
00:33:37.362 --> 00:33:38.383
What is it like all of this?
498
00:33:38.403 --> 00:33:49.367
I'm like, well, fundamentally, I don't believe that the type of content that I'm sharing or the type of information that I'm sharing should be behind a paywall.
499
00:33:50.407 --> 00:33:59.111
I fundamentally believe the federal government should mandate financial literacy education as part of a K-12 school system.
500
00:34:00.031 --> 00:34:01.192
We don't have that right now.
501
00:34:01.892 --> 00:34:03.032
I don't know when we're going to get it.
502
00:34:03.973 --> 00:34:07.594
But I wanted to build something that was easily accessible.
503
00:34:08.195 --> 00:34:10.956
These courses that people are selling are hundreds of dollars.
504
00:34:11.016 --> 00:34:13.817
They're thousands of dollars sometimes, tens of thousands even.
505
00:34:14.677 --> 00:34:15.478
I didn't want that.
506
00:34:16.478 --> 00:34:20.102
I found a hole in the system because there was a gap.
507
00:34:20.763 --> 00:34:25.929
When I started making money and I was like, I have no idea what to do at 22.
508
00:34:26.049 --> 00:34:26.710
Nobody cared.
509
00:34:27.010 --> 00:34:27.731
Nobody wanted to help me.
510
00:34:28.452 --> 00:34:30.294
But I made my first million at 27.
511
00:34:31.155 --> 00:34:33.798
And now at 32 as a multimillionaire.
512
00:34:34.966 --> 00:34:40.832
Every private bank on the streets knocking down my door being like, Vivian, how can we help you?
513
00:34:41.172 --> 00:34:42.874
We'd love to help you manage your money.
514
00:34:42.914 --> 00:34:43.835
It's like, yeah, okay, cool.
515
00:34:43.895 --> 00:34:45.417
Of course you'd like to help me manage my money.
516
00:34:45.437 --> 00:34:46.338
I have a lot of it now.
517
00:34:46.818 --> 00:34:49.301
What about when I was 22 and my credit card was getting declined?
518
00:34:49.621 --> 00:34:56.668
What about when, you know, I was deciding like, okay, should I buy more groceries or should I pay my credit card bill?
519
00:34:57.029 --> 00:34:57.489
Like, absolutely.
520
00:34:57.889 --> 00:35:00.270
Nobody wanted to help me when I didn't have any.
521
00:35:00.310 --> 00:35:05.593
But it's like there are so many people that just need a little bit of a helping hand when they're younger.
522
00:35:05.673 --> 00:35:07.134
And they're going to get successful.
523
00:35:07.154 --> 00:35:08.255
They're going to make that money.
524
00:35:08.795 --> 00:35:10.236
And this is that.
525
00:35:10.916 --> 00:35:12.057
This is my answer to that.
526
00:35:12.217 --> 00:35:14.738
Like I was so frustrated that I couldn't get any help at 22.
527
00:35:15.138 --> 00:35:16.919
But everybody wanted to help me at 32.
528
00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:18.440
With Ask Dolly...
529
00:35:19.655 --> 00:35:20.736
I mentioned free tier.
530
00:35:21.136 --> 00:35:23.439
There is the $20 tier, the $60 tier.
531
00:35:23.999 --> 00:35:24.880
That's affordable.
532
00:35:25.641 --> 00:35:32.487
That's you give up two coffees, two coffees, by the way, like coffees are $10 now.
533
00:35:32.767 --> 00:35:33.008
I know.
534
00:35:33.088 --> 00:35:33.969
I know they're $10.
535
00:35:34.009 --> 00:35:35.250
They're getting expensive.
536
00:35:35.590 --> 00:35:36.431
That's two coffees.
537
00:35:36.471 --> 00:35:38.413
If you give up two coffees a month, you can have Ask Dolly.
538
00:35:39.503 --> 00:35:40.344
I think that's worth it.
539
00:35:40.644 --> 00:35:44.186
I think that doesn't feel like I'm trying to scam anybody.
540
00:35:44.226 --> 00:35:51.771
It doesn't feel like I'm trying to say if you can't afford a certain amount, you don't get to have this happily ever after.
541
00:35:52.171 --> 00:35:54.653
I want people to use this as many people as possible.
542
00:35:54.913 --> 00:35:57.955
I also have an issue with courses when they're $10,000.
543
00:35:57.975 --> 00:36:03.498
You're going to have to, you know, take get a new credit card to actually afford it.
544
00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:06.060
And I think it's so toxic because I mean,
545
00:36:08.760 --> 00:36:11.962
I know that for sure some courses provide value.
546
00:36:12.142 --> 00:36:12.622
Sure, sure.
547
00:36:12.762 --> 00:36:20.585
But at the end of the day, if they're being sold to people that really can't afford it, you're putting them in a really shitty situation, right?
548
00:36:20.605 --> 00:36:31.770
Like if I'm already successful and I want to go learn how to, you know, whatever, start an Airbnb business and I have so much money coming in, okay, fine, 10,000 is nothing to me.
549
00:36:31.830 --> 00:36:32.211
Okay, cool.
550
00:36:32.711 --> 00:36:37.473
But especially in finance, like who's listening to finance content?
551
00:36:37.573 --> 00:36:38.813
It's people who need help with their money.
552
00:36:38.853 --> 00:36:41.354
It's not somebody who's pulling in a million dollars a year.
553
00:36:41.394 --> 00:36:43.155
Like, they're not watching finance YouTube.
554
00:36:43.195 --> 00:36:45.336
It is mostly not watching finance.
555
00:36:45.356 --> 00:36:46.716
They're not because you know what they're doing?
556
00:36:47.257 --> 00:36:50.778
They're being reached out to by all of the banks who want to help manage their, help them.
557
00:36:50.798 --> 00:36:54.219
All the people that you're selling to are the people that are already not doing too good.
558
00:36:54.939 --> 00:36:56.520
In most cases for all these course creators.
559
00:36:56.920 --> 00:36:57.180
Yeah.
560
00:36:57.300 --> 00:37:00.282
And I think that like for some of these courses, sure, they're helpful.
561
00:37:00.302 --> 00:37:00.602
They're great.
562
00:37:00.842 --> 00:37:02.283
A lot of them are scams, though.
563
00:37:02.303 --> 00:37:05.585
A lot of them are three PowerPoint slides and a prayer.
564
00:37:05.605 --> 00:37:06.566
That's very true.
565
00:37:06.646 --> 00:37:08.707
And so I just I'm not of that camp.
566
00:37:08.987 --> 00:37:11.449
I don't think it's ever going to be in the cards for me.
567
00:37:11.649 --> 00:37:15.871
Like, I love the idea of people being able to access the information.
568
00:37:15.891 --> 00:37:22.135
And then if you want it spoon fed to you, personalized one on one, like, pay for it.
569
00:37:23.078 --> 00:37:27.423
How do you build an $8.2 million creator business without a course?
570
00:37:27.703 --> 00:37:28.844
Yeah.
571
00:37:29.886 --> 00:37:31.988
Through a bunch of different lines of business.
572
00:37:32.328 --> 00:37:33.029
If I was going through.
573
00:37:33.069 --> 00:37:37.374
So, I mean, you are chief of financial empowerment at SoFi.
574
00:37:38.335 --> 00:37:41.018
You had a series on Amazon as well.
575
00:37:41.038 --> 00:37:43.741
We're currently in development on a scripted series.
576
00:37:43.761 --> 00:37:43.941
Yes.
577
00:37:44.061 --> 00:37:44.641
That's exciting.
578
00:37:45.062 --> 00:37:48.204
Obviously, you have like your core business.
579
00:37:48.564 --> 00:37:49.385
What else are you working on?
580
00:37:49.485 --> 00:37:50.366
I'm going through my list here.
581
00:37:50.386 --> 00:37:54.909
So I've got my podcast, Network and Chill, two New York Times bestselling books.
582
00:37:54.949 --> 00:37:56.110
I got advances on those.
583
00:37:57.171 --> 00:38:02.295
I have a robust digital media business that I'm able to have brand partners for.
584
00:38:02.695 --> 00:38:03.615
It's mostly brand partners.
585
00:38:03.775 --> 00:38:04.415
Brand partners.
586
00:38:04.856 --> 00:38:06.076
I do speaking.
587
00:38:06.376 --> 00:38:18.239
I actually make a pretty decent chunk of money speaking at different corporations, whether they want to improve their social presence or it's a service for their employees to improve their finances.
588
00:38:18.299 --> 00:38:19.479
So I can talk about social media.
589
00:38:19.499 --> 00:38:20.339
I can talk about finance.
590
00:38:20.359 --> 00:38:21.559
I can talk about all these different things.
591
00:38:23.520 --> 00:38:28.261
I made a little bit of money from the platforms themselves because I have high performing content.
592
00:38:28.641 --> 00:38:30.021
That's not really a ton of money.
593
00:38:32.682 --> 00:38:32.817
Thank you.
594
00:38:34.153 --> 00:38:46.059
There's always hopes for other things as well, like reality TV, a knock on wood, like maybe news anchoring job in the future.
595
00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:48.520
Like, I think there's a lot of room for growth.
596
00:38:49.041 --> 00:38:52.643
But for the most part, I'm so grateful.
597
00:38:52.723 --> 00:38:56.064
Like, I have partners that are able to essentially subsidize my content.
598
00:38:56.365 --> 00:39:00.967
So instead of putting it behind a paywall and charging people to watch it, I'm saying everybody can watch it.
599
00:39:01.867 --> 00:39:03.008
Every so often, you're going to see an ad.
600
00:39:03.472 --> 00:39:05.432
You have all these different income streams.
601
00:39:06.273 --> 00:39:09.854
When you start out, it's hard to focus on so many different things at once.
602
00:39:09.994 --> 00:39:14.575
So for that up and coming creator, where do you suggest they start to focus?
603
00:39:15.095 --> 00:39:25.817
Just so they can make a little bit of money, get a little bit more exposure, make creating content an actual sustainable business for them, and if they do that for long enough, then you look at what it can turn into.
604
00:39:26.298 --> 00:39:27.258
But where do they start to focus?
605
00:39:28.500 --> 00:39:31.864
I think you focus on one specific thing and you do it really, really well.
606
00:39:32.124 --> 00:39:35.388
So for me, it was short form, lo-fi content.
607
00:39:35.969 --> 00:39:43.637
I did that really, really well until I was making enough money doing that to then be able to hire someone who could help take part of that over for me.
608
00:39:44.338 --> 00:39:50.743
When she started taking over the editing and the posting and all that, I then had time freed up to focus on the podcast.
609
00:39:51.383 --> 00:39:54.986
And then I hired someone else to come in and help focus on the podcast.
610
00:39:55.186 --> 00:39:57.287
So my time freed up and then I could focus on the book.
611
00:39:58.068 --> 00:40:00.149
And obviously I had an editor.
612
00:40:00.249 --> 00:40:02.731
I had folks who were helping me with the book.
613
00:40:03.291 --> 00:40:05.513
I was able to then, once I finished the book.
614
00:40:06.925 --> 00:40:07.305
Go on tour.
615
00:40:07.325 --> 00:40:08.206
You're very project-based.
616
00:40:08.426 --> 00:40:09.166
Very project-based.
617
00:40:09.447 --> 00:40:10.767
So, like, take on a project.
618
00:40:11.608 --> 00:40:13.589
You probably start it yourself.
619
00:40:13.789 --> 00:40:18.272
You get to, like, a certain level of competency at doing that thing, and then you hire somebody.
620
00:40:18.292 --> 00:40:24.736
I think about it as, like, you are running on each of these projects, and at first you start off at, like, a walk.
621
00:40:24.756 --> 00:40:25.596
Like, you're on the treadmill.
622
00:40:25.616 --> 00:40:26.897
It's, like, a 2.0, 3.0.
623
00:40:27.517 --> 00:40:29.098
When I get it to a 6.0 or a 7.0 and I'm running,
624
00:40:32.040 --> 00:40:33.100
I can pass it over to someone else.
625
00:40:33.200 --> 00:40:34.641
And they are now they're running with a baton.
626
00:40:35.461 --> 00:40:43.284
And my expectation is that since I'm paying them, since I've given them something that is good, that is already running at a six or seven, they better be able to take it to an eight.
627
00:40:43.564 --> 00:40:44.764
They better be able to take it to a nine.
628
00:40:46.045 --> 00:40:47.305
And then I'm able to move on to the next thing.
629
00:40:48.186 --> 00:40:52.267
Was there anything that you've taken on that was particularly hard to delegate to someone else?
630
00:40:52.855 --> 00:40:53.195
Two things.
631
00:40:53.815 --> 00:40:58.037
One, social media, because it was my baby, like my digital short form content.
632
00:40:58.057 --> 00:41:00.298
I was like, I pass it over.
633
00:41:01.378 --> 00:41:03.759
But I'm really particular about how it looks, how it sounds.
634
00:41:04.119 --> 00:41:05.759
You know, that is my red and butter.
635
00:41:05.879 --> 00:41:08.660
So I wanted to really, really tighten on that.
636
00:41:09.141 --> 00:41:11.321
And then two, I think.
637
00:41:14.182 --> 00:41:18.804
Doing Ask Dolly, building Ask Dolly from the ground up, you mentioned self-funded,
638
00:41:20.078 --> 00:41:21.863
Most expensive thing I've ever bought, by the way.
639
00:41:22.385 --> 00:41:23.569
More expensive than my down payment.
640
00:41:23.589 --> 00:41:24.632
More expensive than my wedding.
641
00:41:24.912 --> 00:41:25.635
I don't own a car.
642
00:41:26.076 --> 00:41:26.276
Like...
643
00:41:27.260 --> 00:41:30.381
It was over a million dollars to stand it up.
644
00:41:31.122 --> 00:41:33.443
And that is the most expensive thing I've ever purchased.
645
00:41:34.623 --> 00:41:39.005
That's scary, one, because, you know, people are like, oh, you made $8.2 million last year.
646
00:41:39.565 --> 00:41:42.447
Like, I didn't suddenly get a really, really nice apartment.
647
00:41:42.467 --> 00:41:44.067
I didn't suddenly get a much nicer car.
648
00:41:44.087 --> 00:41:47.629
I didn't suddenly get jewels and diamonds and everything is amazing.
649
00:41:47.669 --> 00:41:49.670
Like, I invested it back in my business.
650
00:41:50.630 --> 00:41:58.016
And so I think for me, doing that was very scary and delegating something that was so expensive was so scary.
651
00:41:59.397 --> 00:42:05.881
But I think it was extra scary because it's the first time in a long time I've had to do something for the first time.
652
00:42:06.922 --> 00:42:10.905
So I'll repeat, like if you think about when you're in kindergarten.
653
00:42:12.536 --> 00:42:13.676
You have your first day of school.
654
00:42:14.477 --> 00:42:15.617
You make your first new friend.
655
00:42:16.037 --> 00:42:17.397
You meet your first teacher ever.
656
00:42:17.918 --> 00:42:20.478
You have your first lunch without your mom.
657
00:42:21.019 --> 00:42:23.999
You go down the slide for the first time.
658
00:42:25.100 --> 00:42:29.721
You live in a world of discomfort because you are constantly doing something for the first time.
659
00:42:30.321 --> 00:42:31.482
And it's scary the first time.
660
00:42:32.382 --> 00:42:33.182
But the second time, it's easier.
661
00:42:33.202 --> 00:42:34.603
And then the third time, it's easier.
662
00:42:35.103 --> 00:42:42.045
But the problem is, is as we get older and older and older, you do things for the first time more and more rarely.
663
00:42:43.356 --> 00:42:49.509
Building Ask Dolly from the ground up as a tech venture, like I don't have like a computer science background or anything like that.
664
00:42:49.529 --> 00:42:51.974
Like I was doing something new for the very first time.
665
00:42:52.174 --> 00:42:53.597
And man, was I terrified.
666
00:42:54.349 --> 00:42:55.750
Two thoughts on that.
667
00:42:56.010 --> 00:42:57.451
First, yes, it is like brand new.
668
00:42:57.531 --> 00:42:58.732
Tech ventures are not easy.
669
00:42:58.832 --> 00:43:03.155
Finding good developer talent when you've never hired a developer in your life, it's like very, very difficult.
670
00:43:04.036 --> 00:43:11.301
But secondly, I find that it's even more stressful for content creators to scale and delegate because everything is tied to their name.
671
00:43:12.522 --> 00:43:14.523
So like when you start a business that is not tied to your name…
672
00:43:15.593 --> 00:43:18.914
Yeah, all founders like get stressed about delegating.
673
00:43:19.834 --> 00:43:25.555
But delegating your social, like I'm, I don't know, Gary Vee still says he writes his own little captions.
674
00:43:25.635 --> 00:43:35.757
I like kind of believe him because I can see how stressful it is for a guy who is so neurotic about like social media to let somebody else do that.
675
00:43:36.077 --> 00:43:40.198
And I know he has a huge team of supports like the editing and stuff, but I feel like it's hard to let go of that because it's you.
676
00:43:40.898 --> 00:43:46.380
one bad caption that is worded the wrong way or one bad video that's a shitty take.
677
00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:53.862
And now everybody thinks that's Gary Vee when in fact it could have been the new intern, but like, I am your rich BFF.
678
00:43:53.922 --> 00:43:59.924
Vivian too is your rich BFF and your rich BFF is what is building Ask Dolly.
679
00:43:59.944 --> 00:44:02.244
So everything is me, the buck stops with me.
680
00:44:02.544 --> 00:44:04.285
So it does feel like everything.
681
00:44:05.085 --> 00:44:06.846
And there's also a lot more eyes, right?
682
00:44:07.926 --> 00:44:18.368
I feel like the 2000s era, early 2000s, like when Silicon Valley was like really popping off, there were all of these anonymous founders and the product they built really spoke for themselves.
683
00:44:18.388 --> 00:44:23.809
But like Mark Zuckerberg wasn't famous before he built Facebook.
684
00:44:24.369 --> 00:44:30.691
And there wasn't this kind of like celebrity pressure on the founder.
685
00:44:30.951 --> 00:44:35.852
Whereas now as someone who built the following first, like,
686
00:44:36.992 --> 00:44:42.600
There is criticism of me, not only as a creator, but as a founder.
687
00:44:43.283 --> 00:44:46.225
I think that that's why so many creators have a hard time scaling.
688
00:44:46.425 --> 00:44:48.846
It's not because they don't know what they're doing.
689
00:44:48.886 --> 00:44:50.607
It's not because they couldn't build a business.
690
00:44:50.747 --> 00:44:54.049
It's truly because their identity is so wrapped up into the work that they do.
691
00:44:54.509 --> 00:44:57.691
And they can't get over the fact that they have to let someone else do it.
692
00:44:58.331 --> 00:45:00.632
It's like a psychological blocker.
693
00:45:01.113 --> 00:45:02.333
You've done a really good job of it.
694
00:45:02.553 --> 00:45:06.756
I think you were also on one of our mutual friends, Valeria Lipovetsky.
695
00:45:07.216 --> 00:45:07.956
Also Miami.
696
00:45:07.976 --> 00:45:08.357
Miami girl.
697
00:45:08.397 --> 00:45:09.177
Also Canadian, by the way.
698
00:45:09.337 --> 00:45:09.677
Is she?
699
00:45:09.717 --> 00:45:10.298
Yeah, from Toronto.
700
00:45:10.598 --> 00:45:10.698
Yeah.
701
00:45:10.718 --> 00:45:10.858
Yeah.
702
00:45:10.978 --> 00:45:14.059
I don't think there's like a Toronto mafia down in Miami.
703
00:45:14.079 --> 00:45:14.399
There is.
704
00:45:14.419 --> 00:45:15.079
It's so funny.
705
00:45:15.119 --> 00:45:17.920
So point is, she's also done a good job of this as well.
706
00:45:17.940 --> 00:45:18.600
And I have a huge team.
707
00:45:18.640 --> 00:45:19.841
And then we know her and Gary.
708
00:45:20.621 --> 00:45:24.022
But we met them when they moved down to Miami, even though we're both from Toronto, which is ironic.
709
00:45:24.062 --> 00:45:28.164
But there is a little bit of a Canadian mafia down in Miami.
710
00:45:28.184 --> 00:45:28.884
There really is.
711
00:45:28.904 --> 00:45:31.865
I'm like, wait, we're all because like my last landlord was Canadian.
712
00:45:32.005 --> 00:45:32.245
Really?
713
00:45:32.325 --> 00:45:32.605
Yeah.
714
00:45:32.885 --> 00:45:33.465
That's so funny.
715
00:45:33.705 --> 00:45:37.707
But the point is, there's very few creators that I can point to that are like, they did a good job.
716
00:45:37.747 --> 00:45:41.128
They got out of just them being the business and then turned into a real business.
717
00:45:41.268 --> 00:45:56.032
I will say Valeria has done an incredibly good job, but I don't think I could do her content as well as she does because my content is more educational focused to the point where, like, I only have to share about my personal life when I feel like it.
718
00:45:56.512 --> 00:46:00.133
But, like, her content oftentimes does revolve around her and Gary and her family.
719
00:46:00.514 --> 00:46:01.834
And I'm like, man, like.
720
00:46:02.894 --> 00:46:06.736
I love that she makes her content and I have nothing but admiration for her.
721
00:46:06.816 --> 00:46:09.597
But like, girl, doesn't that get exhausting?
722
00:46:09.877 --> 00:46:11.057
I think it would.
723
00:46:11.237 --> 00:46:11.698
I think it would.
724
00:46:11.718 --> 00:46:12.578
Like I'm the same as you.
725
00:46:12.678 --> 00:46:15.659
So I like doing educational and then I'll like I'll sprinkle in.
726
00:46:15.699 --> 00:46:16.139
Sprinkle in.
727
00:46:16.279 --> 00:46:16.599
Yeah, yeah.
728
00:46:16.619 --> 00:46:16.979
Personal.
729
00:46:17.260 --> 00:46:20.221
But for 100% of your content to be personal, I think it is tiring.
730
00:46:20.461 --> 00:46:27.883
I'm sure it takes a certain kind of personality when, you know, your content is what you do, what you wear, where you go.
731
00:46:27.903 --> 00:46:29.264
Like that's a lot.
732
00:46:29.484 --> 00:46:32.947
That's even, it's like even more of your identity is wrapped up into it, like 100% of it.
733
00:46:33.367 --> 00:46:38.010
Like, at least for me, like half of my content is the guest, which I don't mind, right?
734
00:46:38.050 --> 00:46:39.692
Like I can like, you know, I'm having like an off day.
735
00:46:39.712 --> 00:46:40.932
It's like, oh, like your content sucks.
736
00:46:40.953 --> 00:46:41.673
Well, the guest was bad.
737
00:46:42.414 --> 00:46:44.175
Vivian, Vivian with this interview.
738
00:46:44.834 --> 00:46:47.836
So you speak about freezing embryos.
739
00:46:48.316 --> 00:46:56.601
You speak about, well, I think your second book opens with people think love is enough.
740
00:46:56.961 --> 00:46:57.542
It's not.
741
00:46:57.562 --> 00:46:59.523
So you're talking about marriage.
742
00:46:59.603 --> 00:47:00.944
You're talking about my husband.
743
00:47:01.404 --> 00:47:08.509
I think I understand it because to understand money, you have to understand like real life and how it impacts real life.
744
00:47:08.890 --> 00:47:11.712
So all these different things you talk about, it's not just content I'm assuming.
745
00:47:11.732 --> 00:47:15.334
I think these are expensive financial decisions that people have to make as well.
746
00:47:15.975 --> 00:47:18.276
So talk to me.
747
00:47:18.336 --> 00:47:21.739
Why did you like, why did you choose to conclude some of this stuff into your content?
748
00:47:22.279 --> 00:47:27.363
Cause I think I wanted to show people that like life and money is messy in theory.
749
00:47:27.383 --> 00:47:27.563
It's not,
750
00:47:27.882 --> 00:47:33.443
there is more often than not a mathematically correct decision of what to do with your finances.
751
00:47:33.603 --> 00:47:37.424
Like there are trade-offs, but like you can do the math and decide what is the best option.
752
00:47:38.284 --> 00:47:44.246
But how often have you seen someone who has complained about their budget go buy a candy bar?
753
00:47:45.186 --> 00:47:45.986
They wanted the candy bar.
754
00:47:46.066 --> 00:47:46.766
I don't blame them.
755
00:47:47.066 --> 00:47:47.926
I've done the same.
756
00:47:48.647 --> 00:47:54.248
But I think that like we have to talk about the messiness that is life,
757
00:47:55.373 --> 00:47:58.714
And why sometimes people make irrational decisions.
758
00:47:59.654 --> 00:48:03.694
And then way if those irrational decisions actually make sense or not.
759
00:48:03.855 --> 00:48:08.295
Or how can we actually trick ourselves into making smarter decisions.
760
00:48:08.975 --> 00:48:10.816
So like I don't know.
761
00:48:10.876 --> 00:48:17.597
It was completely irrational to move in with my now husband then boyfriend of 30 days.
762
00:48:18.117 --> 00:48:19.157
Like that was dumb.
763
00:48:20.837 --> 00:48:22.218
Don't recommend it for anybody else.
764
00:48:22.918 --> 00:48:23.138
But.
765
00:48:24.231 --> 00:48:24.571
It worked.
766
00:48:25.372 --> 00:48:30.918
But I talk about that story of how we were splitting rent and I talk about the stories of like, you know, how we talk about money.
767
00:48:30.978 --> 00:48:33.580
And I hope those are learning moments for other people.
768
00:48:34.021 --> 00:48:36.944
But to show that even someone who is a purported expert.
769
00:48:38.285 --> 00:48:45.332
Can screw it up sometimes or break the rules and that there are very few situations that are so bad that you can't come back from.
770
00:48:45.754 --> 00:48:47.416
HubSpot is a success story partner.
771
00:48:47.576 --> 00:48:52.422
Now, every entrepreneur, founder, CEOs listening right now needs to pay attention.
772
00:48:52.762 --> 00:48:53.503
I have a question for you.
773
00:48:53.824 --> 00:49:01.473
When a buyer asks AI for a solution or a product that your business sells, does your business come up?
774
00:49:01.733 --> 00:49:04.574
The answer is that most companies have no idea.
775
00:49:04.874 --> 00:49:11.716
They don't know if their name shows up in any of the AI tools, chat, perplexity, Claude.
776
00:49:12.117 --> 00:49:18.699
And by the time they find out, they have lost tons of traffic and tons of deals to someone who did show up.
777
00:49:19.059 --> 00:49:20.599
HubSpot AEO.
778
00:49:21.080 --> 00:49:28.362
It helps you show up in those moments with the right answers that your customers and your buyers are looking for when they go type in a question.
779
00:49:28.602 --> 00:49:29.783
It's before the first click.
780
00:49:29.843 --> 00:49:32.604
It's before they fill out some form on your website.
781
00:49:33.104 --> 00:49:36.886
That is the moment that HubSpot AEO is built for.
782
00:49:37.266 --> 00:49:42.968
So if you want your company to show up in AI searches when your customer is looking, check out HubSpot.com.
783
00:49:43.308 --> 00:49:47.030
They are the agentic customer platform for growing businesses.
784
00:49:47.310 --> 00:49:48.711
NetSuite is a success story partner.
785
00:49:48.911 --> 00:49:50.432
Now you probably know NetSuite already.
786
00:49:50.452 --> 00:49:54.174
It's a software that a ton of companies use to basically manage everything.
787
00:49:54.214 --> 00:49:57.896
Their finances, their inventory, their HR, it's just all in one place.
788
00:49:58.116 --> 00:50:00.117
Now they just came out with NetSuite Next.
789
00:50:00.317 --> 00:50:03.019
This is the AI version of all of that.
790
00:50:03.039 --> 00:50:07.641
So now you can ask it a question the way you'd ask someone on your team who just knows everything about your business.
791
00:50:07.981 --> 00:50:08.862
It gives you the answer.
792
00:50:09.142 --> 00:50:14.863
It keeps you up to date on all the things you need to know about your company and your business without you having to go digging for them.
793
00:50:15.103 --> 00:50:20.725
And it has these AI agents that take care of all the routine work in your business that eats up everybody's day.
794
00:50:21.005 --> 00:50:25.826
Now, the bigger picture here is that AI is starting to change how teams actually work together.
795
00:50:26.126 --> 00:50:29.887
It's happening incredibly fast and most companies don't have a plan for it.
796
00:50:30.147 --> 00:50:30.787
NetSuite does.
797
00:50:31.087 --> 00:50:36.569
They have a free guide called Aligning for the Agentic Era, how AI is changing everyday work.
798
00:50:36.729 --> 00:50:41.750
It breaks down how AI could reshape the way your whole organization works and what your business should be doing to get ahead of it.
799
00:50:41.930 --> 00:50:44.651
If I needed a tool like NetSuite, it's what I'd use and you should too.
800
00:50:44.931 --> 00:50:53.894
So if your revenues are at least in the seven figures, get our free business guide, Aligning for the Agentic Era, how AI is changing everyday work at netsuite.com slash scottclary.
801
00:50:54.174 --> 00:50:57.875
The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash scottclary.
802
00:50:58.135 --> 00:51:00.536
That's netsuite.com slash scottclary.
803
00:51:00.636 --> 00:51:01.957
Monarch is a success story partner.
804
00:51:02.037 --> 00:51:02.757
Now, quick question.
805
00:51:02.897 --> 00:51:04.858
Do you know where your money went last month?
806
00:51:04.958 --> 00:51:06.699
Not roughly, but exactly.
807
00:51:06.799 --> 00:51:07.520
And most people don't.
808
00:51:07.740 --> 00:51:08.660
And I didn't for years.
809
00:51:08.720 --> 00:51:10.841
And that is most of our money stories, right?
810
00:51:10.921 --> 00:51:14.663
When we first start our career, we have one income and one account, and you can kind of wing it.
811
00:51:14.903 --> 00:51:22.787
But once you're running businesses, once you're investing, once you're carrying 50 different subscriptions that you stop paying attention to, winging it gets super expensive.
812
00:51:22.987 --> 00:51:24.008
Monarch fixed that for me.
813
00:51:24.088 --> 00:51:26.089
It is the personal finance app that tracks
814
00:51:26.409 --> 00:51:26.829
everything.
815
00:51:26.889 --> 00:51:30.951
So that means accounts, investments, savings goals, spending all on one screen.
816
00:51:31.071 --> 00:51:34.772
The first week I had it, it fired recurring charges I'd been paying for months without realizing.
817
00:51:34.892 --> 00:51:40.614
And every single week, the AI recap tells me if spending spiked, if my net worth moved, and what bills are coming.
818
00:51:40.634 --> 00:51:43.855
And I can just ask it, hey, can I afford this trip without touching my savings?
819
00:51:43.915 --> 00:51:47.036
And I can get a real answer based on my actual numbers.
820
00:51:47.136 --> 00:51:49.297
It is a financial advisor in your pocket.
821
00:51:49.557 --> 00:51:51.417
It costs less than an hour with a real one.
822
00:51:51.557 --> 00:51:53.318
So write your own money story with Monarch.
823
00:51:53.558 --> 00:51:58.141
Use code SUCCESS at monarch.com and get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.
824
00:51:58.401 --> 00:52:01.924
That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code SUCCESS.
825
00:52:02.364 --> 00:52:07.267
One thing that I think is just a really important thing to speak about briefly, having kids.
826
00:52:07.928 --> 00:52:10.310
Because I just mentioned you froze your embryos.
827
00:52:10.410 --> 00:52:13.672
You've also said kids will make you poor, but you're planning a family anyways.
828
00:52:14.933 --> 00:52:19.277
And I bring this up not because of what you're doing, what you're choosing to do with your personal life.
829
00:52:19.297 --> 00:52:22.380
I think because a lot of people are stressed out about should we have kids?
830
00:52:22.801 --> 00:52:23.641
Can we afford them?
831
00:52:24.322 --> 00:52:25.884
I feel like life's more expensive.
832
00:52:26.184 --> 00:52:27.205
People are having kids later.
833
00:52:27.245 --> 00:52:28.366
People are getting married later.
834
00:52:28.386 --> 00:52:29.247
It feels like life is...
835
00:52:30.588 --> 00:52:32.050
I was just talking to my dad yesterday.
836
00:52:32.892 --> 00:52:35.475
So he's like, I'm 36.
837
00:52:35.876 --> 00:52:43.407
He's like, you are the age that I was when I had you.
838
00:52:44.228 --> 00:52:46.672
And he said, like, even that was really late.
839
00:52:47.127 --> 00:52:48.948
In our parents' generation, for sure, yeah.
840
00:52:49.088 --> 00:52:53.209
In his circle of friends, he said, like, everybody had kids, like, much, much, much earlier.
841
00:52:53.309 --> 00:52:57.451
And we don't have kids yet, and we want kids, and we're trying for kids.
842
00:52:57.691 --> 00:53:03.313
Whereas I now, in my mind, my perception is, like, this is the right age, actually.
843
00:53:03.373 --> 00:53:04.233
Which is crazy.
844
00:53:04.593 --> 00:53:05.274
So this is the thing.
845
00:53:05.294 --> 00:53:06.734
So, like, what's right, what's wrong?
846
00:53:07.054 --> 00:53:08.935
I mean, I don't know.
847
00:53:09.275 --> 00:53:10.415
I don't know what's right and what's wrong.
848
00:53:10.435 --> 00:53:12.936
Because if you choose to have kids earlier, great.
849
00:53:13.136 --> 00:53:13.717
It's probably –
850
00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:33.472
easier on you mentally because you're not stressed about all the shit that life can throw at you, whereas now you're older and you're thinking about all the different expenses you have and all the different responsibilities you have and you just think, okay, well, you know, now if I want my kid to go to a good school, that's going to be a private school and it's going to be, you know, how much money per year and you overthink it.
851
00:53:33.552 --> 00:53:42.698
So I don't know what's right or wrong and also the same thing goes for like, you know, our parents' generation was smarter to have kids younger or later and now we're not even comparing...
852
00:53:43.518 --> 00:54:07.461
you know ourselves to what our friends are doing or not doing we're also comparing ourselves to our parents and we're wondering like well my kids my friends aren't having kids yet my parents had kids younger so like am i failing am i doing okay and we have all this like self-doubt because there's no playbook for how to live a life properly it's all subjective yeah but i have a theory please
853
00:54:08.061 --> 00:54:16.327
So my theory, and this is not backed by any sort of science, this is just a little theory I have.
854
00:54:16.527 --> 00:54:29.677
The generation before us were able to make bigger life decisions earlier on because they were, and take this with a grain of salt, quote unquote, better off financially.
855
00:54:29.697 --> 00:54:30.878
Okay?
856
00:54:30.898 --> 00:54:30.998
Okay.
857
00:54:32.245 --> 00:54:41.350
It doesn't necessarily mean that, you know, if your mom or dad had you at 22, they had more dollars in their bank account than you do now.
858
00:54:41.930 --> 00:54:48.233
But everything felt less stressful because a home only cost $150,000.
859
00:54:50.414 --> 00:54:57.138
Whereas now, even if you are having more money than your parents, the average home is like 400 grand, 450 grand.
860
00:54:59.120 --> 00:55:14.209
And so you have to have that in your mind when thinking about, can I purchase a home that is not only big enough for my family, but maybe is it in the right school district so that I can get my kid into the right public school because I can't afford private school.
861
00:55:14.669 --> 00:55:18.951
And so even though we as kids.
862
00:55:21.452 --> 00:55:27.238
An average community, like a generational band, the numbers show that we have more dollars.
863
00:55:27.618 --> 00:55:29.220
Those dollars go less far.
864
00:55:29.821 --> 00:55:35.407
And thus, we are delaying some of those big life milestones, such as buying a home, such as starting a family.
865
00:55:35.767 --> 00:55:40.232
And that's why you're seeing our friends having kids later and later and later.
866
00:55:40.572 --> 00:55:42.554
So is that smart to delay?
867
00:55:43.032 --> 00:55:49.516
I think the problem is, is like finance and biology are inverse in terms of ease.
868
00:55:50.196 --> 00:55:54.998
Like have a kid earlier, biologically, you'll probably be in a better position to do so.
869
00:55:55.079 --> 00:55:56.859
Your eggs are likely healthier.
870
00:55:56.899 --> 00:55:58.320
Like, you know, it's all healthier.
871
00:55:58.981 --> 00:56:00.601
But you got less to then do.
872
00:56:01.702 --> 00:56:24.259
you know take care of the needs on the flip side you wait till you're later you're more financially stable great but your body might betray you because when i went in and froze my embryos they used to call women who had babies 35 and older geriatric pregnancies 35 is geriatric what
873
00:56:24.920 --> 00:56:25.380
Is that true?
874
00:56:25.500 --> 00:56:25.801
Yes.
875
00:56:26.641 --> 00:56:29.243
They have like a new like politically correct term for it.
876
00:56:29.564 --> 00:56:31.826
But that's what they were calling it up until just a few years ago.
877
00:56:33.727 --> 00:56:36.009
And I find that kind of like crazy.
878
00:56:36.887 --> 00:56:39.068
That does sound crazy because 35 doesn't seem that old.
879
00:56:39.088 --> 00:56:40.049
35 does not seem old at all.
880
00:56:40.589 --> 00:56:47.353
But the problem is, is at 35, there has been a statistically significant show that egg count decreases.
881
00:56:47.913 --> 00:56:52.776
And so if you're trying to get pregnant later, some people, you're just really fertile.
882
00:56:53.296 --> 00:56:55.817
You can be popping kids out well into your early 40s.
883
00:56:56.457 --> 00:56:56.758
But...
884
00:56:57.658 --> 00:57:12.521
For many people, whether it has to do with the air we're breathing, the food we're eating, and just hormonal changes or things that we're putting in our body, are finding that it's harder and harder to have children, like, the old-fashioned way in your later 30s.
885
00:57:12.961 --> 00:57:20.503
And so that's why I actually chose to froze embryos because I am not in a position right now that I want to have a kid.
886
00:57:21.183 --> 00:57:27.212
But when I change my mind and I'm ready in a couple years, like, will I be able to?
887
00:57:28.153 --> 00:57:30.697
I always want to be able to have the final say in the decision.
888
00:57:31.117 --> 00:57:32.760
I never want the decision to be made for me.
889
00:57:33.192 --> 00:57:33.772
I understand.
890
00:57:33.872 --> 00:57:37.654
And I think that the reason why I bring that, there's a lot of things that stress people out financially.
891
00:57:37.874 --> 00:57:39.075
One would be buying a home.
892
00:57:39.735 --> 00:57:41.396
Probably having kids is like a close second.
893
00:57:41.936 --> 00:57:48.499
But the reason I bring up having kids is like a huge financial stressor is, well, if you choose not to buy a home now, you can buy a home later.
894
00:57:48.879 --> 00:57:51.721
It's really not that bad to delay it a little bit.
895
00:57:52.101 --> 00:58:00.505
But I think the kids thing is causing a lot of young couples to stress out financially because they don't know if they can barely afford rent, how they're going to take care of a family.
896
00:58:00.885 --> 00:58:12.235
And I don't know if you have any words of wisdom because it doesn't seem like it's an easy solution outside of freezing eggs or embryos to, you know, sort of hopefully give you a chance in the future.
897
00:58:12.275 --> 00:58:15.117
But I was going to say, what is your advice for a young couple?
898
00:58:15.277 --> 00:58:16.318
I have a hot take.
899
00:58:17.439 --> 00:58:23.284
Do not listen to the older generation or people in your life that are like, just have the baby now.
900
00:58:23.324 --> 00:58:24.225
You'll figure it out.
901
00:58:24.445 --> 00:58:25.125
Because everyone says that.
902
00:58:25.205 --> 00:58:25.846
Everybody says that.
903
00:58:25.926 --> 00:58:29.008
I think that is the shittiest piece of advice you can give to someone.
904
00:58:29.428 --> 00:58:30.629
Let's be entirely clear.
905
00:58:31.149 --> 00:58:33.850
Intimacy and money are the top two reasons why couples fight.
906
00:58:34.391 --> 00:58:44.036
You're telling me if money's already tightened out and you bring on whole new human life form that you have to take care of in nine months into this world, the money conversations, the money arguments aren't going to get worse.
907
00:58:45.117 --> 00:58:45.797
Be real with yourself.
908
00:58:46.318 --> 00:58:51.321
But two, I think that like we don't fully appreciate –
909
00:58:52.521 --> 00:59:15.434
like how many parents regret having kids because there's this um psychological principle and i'm gonna butcher it now now that i brought it up but essentially they asked a bunch of parents like do you regret having kids or like would you do it again and most people are like yeah of course it
910
00:59:17.758 --> 00:59:26.540
you don't have a frame of like reference to actually be like, hey, no, I would rather not because you can't just delete your kid.
911
00:59:27.320 --> 00:59:31.200
Whereas the people who don't have kids actually don't even know what they're missing out on.
912
00:59:31.960 --> 00:59:33.881
So oftentimes they are happier.
913
00:59:34.421 --> 00:59:47.063
I think that the actual answer to all of these like big life questions is make sure whatever life you're living, which city you live in, who you marry, you have kids or not, make sure it's your decision.
914
00:59:47.385 --> 00:59:52.967
and not social pressure, and not keeping up with the Joneses, and not pressure from your parents.
915
00:59:53.387 --> 00:59:55.367
Like, you're the one who has to live through that life.
916
00:59:55.887 --> 01:00:07.611
I even think about, like, you know, I've said many times that the best gift that my parents gave me was curiosity, and they never thought any of the stuff that I tried to do was stupid, even though I'm sure at the time it was very stupid.
917
01:00:08.171 --> 01:00:10.732
But that was the gift that led me here today.
918
01:00:11.112 --> 01:00:11.312
But...
919
01:00:12.012 --> 01:00:18.598
I've said to them and I've said on the podcast, if I followed the same playbook that they followed, I would have a subpar life compared to what they had.
920
01:00:18.998 --> 01:00:29.828
If I, I mean, I told you what my dad was when he had kids, but if I had, say, kids a little bit earlier, if I just worked a nine to five W-2 my whole career, well, a couple things.
921
01:00:29.948 --> 01:00:35.052
I wouldn't have the pension my dad has, because he pulls in good money from his pension.
922
01:00:35.092 --> 01:00:38.715
He bought his first house cash when he was 25 or something like that.
923
01:00:39.656 --> 01:00:45.138
So if I followed the playbook that my parents subscribed to, then I would have kids.
924
01:00:45.558 --> 01:00:46.959
I would have no pension.
925
01:00:47.279 --> 01:00:48.699
I would not have a house.
926
01:00:49.080 --> 01:00:55.402
I would be paying month to month in a condo, not making as much money as I am right now as an entrepreneur.
927
01:00:55.862 --> 01:00:57.143
So, I mean, the rules change.
928
01:00:57.283 --> 01:00:58.163
The rules totally change.
929
01:00:58.183 --> 01:01:02.985
So if I thought that's because my parents live life like that, now I should live life like that.
930
01:01:04.065 --> 01:01:05.125
it's not going to work out so well.
931
01:01:05.786 --> 01:01:11.068
So I think that you just have to figure out, and there's nothing wrong with what my parents did if I wanted to live that same life.
932
01:01:11.208 --> 01:01:18.630
I just have to make sure I choose it for myself and understand what my life's going to look like financially in a relationship, the stresses I'm going to have.
933
01:01:19.931 --> 01:01:23.032
I think there's too many people make decisions based on influence from other people.
934
01:01:23.052 --> 01:01:23.872
Yeah, 100%.
935
01:01:24.232 --> 01:01:25.673
That's like my biggest issue.
936
01:01:26.773 --> 01:01:27.853
I want to talk about money.
937
01:01:28.394 --> 01:01:29.714
I guess that's kind of what you do for a living.
938
01:01:31.342 --> 01:01:38.870
I already asked if your DMs look a little bit different now, but let's ask it a different way.
939
01:01:39.911 --> 01:01:43.174
What's the number one question that people are asking Dolly?
940
01:01:43.830 --> 01:01:46.411
I'd actually have to pull that from our data analytics team.
941
01:01:46.831 --> 01:01:53.413
But some popular topics include how to I think we have a lot of sandwich generation users.
942
01:01:53.433 --> 01:01:54.413
I don't know what this is.
943
01:01:54.533 --> 01:01:55.233
You don't know what this is.
944
01:01:55.273 --> 01:02:03.056
OK, so they are like working professionals who have their own family, but they're being sandwiched by their kids.
945
01:02:03.776 --> 01:02:06.958
But then their parents are underfunded for their retirement.
946
01:02:07.518 --> 01:02:13.741
So now all of this pressure is sandwiching them because their kids need support because they're minors.
947
01:02:14.221 --> 01:02:17.343
But their parents also need support because they're becoming elders.
948
01:02:18.003 --> 01:02:22.846
And so the sandwich generation, a lot of AskDoll users are part of the sandwich generation.
949
01:02:23.306 --> 01:02:28.589
And they're asking, how do I care for my parents while caring for my kid?
950
01:02:29.489 --> 01:02:31.190
How do I juggle it all?
951
01:02:31.910 --> 01:02:34.192
And I think that has been the million dollar question since.
952
01:02:35.372 --> 01:02:36.153
Is there an answer?
953
01:02:36.233 --> 01:02:37.173
Is there a good answer?
954
01:02:37.373 --> 01:02:39.515
Listen, I think it's about prioritization, right?
955
01:02:41.030 --> 01:02:53.724
It's also about setting your parents up as early as possible, maybe helping them make smart decisions about if they want to retire and kind of end their life in their own home.
956
01:02:53.744 --> 01:03:00.711
Like, how do you make sure that they're living in a one floor ranch versus a four story building that they're not going to be able to walk the stairs on?
957
01:03:01.252 --> 01:03:03.433
Do you have long-term care insurance?
958
01:03:03.953 --> 01:03:18.198
Are you making sure that if you want to eventually be able to tap into Medicaid, you're putting all of your assets into certain types of trust to protect your income and your assets from being able to be viewed as yours?
959
01:03:18.618 --> 01:03:22.640
There are so many different things that people are doing to prepare for those moments.
960
01:03:23.140 --> 01:03:25.661
But the earlier you have those conversations, the better.
961
01:03:26.161 --> 01:03:31.202
The worst, and I feel bad about this, is when people come and ask those questions and they're already in the thick of it.
962
01:03:31.763 --> 01:03:35.764
Like a parent has already gotten sick and then it's a really hard conversation.
963
01:03:35.904 --> 01:03:42.206
So I would just say earlier is better, but a lot of people are asking about how to care for the people they love most.
964
01:03:42.826 --> 01:03:44.146
Say someone got laid off this morning.
965
01:03:44.666 --> 01:03:46.627
What's your first piece of advice to them?
966
01:03:47.462 --> 01:03:51.886
I would say if they got laid off for not a fault of theirs.
967
01:03:52.206 --> 01:03:53.347
AI came for their job.
968
01:03:53.747 --> 01:04:05.477
No, but like if it was truly like a reduction in force versus like you were bad, I would get a letter from HR or your manager or like company letterhead, a layoff letter to be able to show that.
969
01:04:06.497 --> 01:04:10.340
I would say take a beat to like process and grieve.
970
01:04:10.921 --> 01:04:13.163
I would actually set up –
971
01:04:14.904 --> 01:04:21.626
kind of like a goal list of like what you are searching out for in terms of jobs so that you are able to apply for them.
972
01:04:22.046 --> 01:04:33.368
But at the same time, I would make sure that you are receiving any sort of benefits you're entitled to, including unemployment, anything else that you might qualify for, depending on your state or your local area, local jurisdiction.
973
01:04:34.289 --> 01:04:39.590
But caring for those things is really important in a moment where everything does feel very chaotic.
974
01:04:40.244 --> 01:04:49.289
For the person who hopefully is not laid off, but trying to future-proof themselves for their career so that they don't, you know, I think that careers are way less stable than they used to be.
975
01:04:50.069 --> 01:04:50.629
What's your advice?
976
01:04:50.649 --> 01:04:52.210
What are the skills they should be learning?
977
01:04:52.350 --> 01:04:54.271
Should they be learning skills in their spare time?
978
01:04:54.291 --> 01:04:56.372
Should they be starting a side hustle in their spare time?
979
01:04:56.792 --> 01:04:57.513
All of it, yes?
980
01:04:57.593 --> 01:04:58.173
I mean, yes.
981
01:04:58.653 --> 01:05:00.134
Dee, yes.
982
01:05:00.474 --> 01:05:05.937
I think one of the best skills right now to learn is how to prompt AI properly.
983
01:05:07.005 --> 01:05:12.307
The people who are like, AI is not that advanced, it's kinda shitty, it's like, yeah, maybe you put crap in and got crap out.
984
01:05:12.767 --> 01:05:14.908
Like, that's what happens.
985
01:05:16.428 --> 01:05:18.209
And I actually felt this myself.
986
01:05:18.629 --> 01:05:20.709
And I felt a little embarrassed, if I'm honest with you.
987
01:05:20.849 --> 01:05:23.370
I feel like I'm really tech savvy and I'm quite sharp.
988
01:05:23.670 --> 01:05:24.651
I like to think that of myself.
989
01:05:25.611 --> 01:05:28.072
I had a, we had a summer intern, she was wonderful.
990
01:05:28.192 --> 01:05:29.372
Shout out Meredith.
991
01:05:29.532 --> 01:05:33.053
She is also a student at the University of Chicago, my college.
992
01:05:35.968 --> 01:05:41.312
And I watched her type a prompt into an LLM.
993
01:05:42.893 --> 01:05:45.474
And the length of this prompt was like this long.
994
01:05:45.574 --> 01:05:50.017
And I was like, I have never written a prompt that long with that much detail.
995
01:05:50.638 --> 01:05:53.180
And I asked her and I was like, Meredith, real question.
996
01:05:55.261 --> 01:05:56.582
Who taught you how to do that?
997
01:05:57.362 --> 01:05:59.304
And she was like, like, what do you mean?
998
01:05:59.344 --> 01:06:00.605
I've been doing this for years.
999
01:06:00.625 --> 01:06:01.005
I'm like...
1000
01:06:01.683 --> 01:06:02.063
Years.
1001
01:06:03.143 --> 01:06:06.304
And I was like, oh, I guess that's kind of crazy.
1002
01:06:06.344 --> 01:06:08.564
Like this didn't this wasn't really a thing.
1003
01:06:08.604 --> 01:06:15.426
And I mentioned like, oh, yeah, like when COVID hit, when I was at my last job, she goes, just so you're aware, COVID hit when I was in middle school.
1004
01:06:15.766 --> 01:06:16.246
Oh, my God.
1005
01:06:16.406 --> 01:06:18.066
I wanted to hurl myself off of a cliff.
1006
01:06:18.226 --> 01:06:20.647
First off, you're hurting me.
1007
01:06:21.347 --> 01:06:23.427
Second off, what?
1008
01:06:24.868 --> 01:06:25.168
So.
1009
01:06:27.754 --> 01:06:29.415
She's grown up in a native environment.
1010
01:06:29.495 --> 01:06:32.956
And that's what's so scary for people that have not grown up with AI.
1011
01:06:33.096 --> 01:06:37.558
That is a skill that I think folks our generation could really use because we did not grow up with this.
1012
01:06:37.718 --> 01:06:41.380
It feels like your mom trying to call like a ride share on the phone.
1013
01:06:41.400 --> 01:06:42.300
She's like, what is this?
1014
01:06:44.341 --> 01:06:44.881
We have to learn it.
1015
01:06:45.502 --> 01:06:47.022
If we don't want to be left behind, we have to learn it.
1016
01:06:47.062 --> 01:06:48.723
I think that is an underrated skill.
1017
01:06:48.743 --> 01:06:49.503
You know what's crazy?
1018
01:06:50.043 --> 01:06:53.725
How entitled we are that we think that we know it well just by dabbling with it.
1019
01:06:55.322 --> 01:06:56.282
Because I do the same shit.
1020
01:06:56.302 --> 01:06:57.983
I put in three sentences and I'm like, I'm a genius.
1021
01:06:58.103 --> 01:06:58.663
No, you're not.
1022
01:06:58.843 --> 01:07:00.244
This is not great, actually.
1023
01:07:00.564 --> 01:07:06.446
So not only are we not, we did not grow up with it, we also have entitlement that stops us from learning it properly.
1024
01:07:08.166 --> 01:07:12.447
And I still consider, I also consider myself tech savvy and like youngish compared to some people.
1025
01:07:13.028 --> 01:07:15.428
And I don't do paragraph prompts, but you're right.
1026
01:07:15.468 --> 01:07:16.769
Garbage in, garbage out.
1027
01:07:17.009 --> 01:07:17.209
Yeah.
1028
01:07:18.229 --> 01:07:20.430
But I think it was just really scary for me because I was like,
1029
01:07:21.997 --> 01:07:23.778
Like, I'm smart.
1030
01:07:24.499 --> 01:07:26.841
And like, I hate to say that part out loud, but like, I am smart.
1031
01:07:27.622 --> 01:07:30.984
Why haven't I been able to figure this out as natively as someone who grew up on it?
1032
01:07:31.425 --> 01:07:34.207
And it's like, well, you didn't have all the practice.
1033
01:07:34.727 --> 01:07:43.034
Like, when she was in high school, like, her classes were probably using these as tools and showing her how to use it.
1034
01:07:43.874 --> 01:07:47.057
I figured this stuff out, you know, a couple years ago, maybe.
1035
01:07:47.077 --> 01:07:47.197
Maybe.
1036
01:07:47.581 --> 01:07:54.526
Do you think the statement, a money problem is normally a skill problem, is fair?
1037
01:07:55.447 --> 01:07:55.707
No.
1038
01:07:58.069 --> 01:07:58.649
I don't.
1039
01:08:01.454 --> 01:08:10.660
Because, unfortunately, most responsible money decisions are not necessarily skill-based.
1040
01:08:11.700 --> 01:08:12.861
They are stamina-based.
1041
01:08:14.062 --> 01:08:16.503
It's not even can you have discipline today.
1042
01:08:16.703 --> 01:08:21.066
It's can you be disciplined in your decision-making for a long, long, long period of time.
1043
01:08:21.678 --> 01:08:30.427
It's so funny how you interpreted that statement because the way that I thought about it was if you don't have the skills to get the next.
1044
01:08:31.488 --> 01:08:34.171
I totally saw it a complete different way.
1045
01:08:34.191 --> 01:08:35.312
I understand where you're coming from, though.
1046
01:08:35.853 --> 01:08:37.034
I like the way you interpreted it.
1047
01:08:37.554 --> 01:08:41.478
So money is not a skill problem in terms of money skills.
1048
01:08:41.979 --> 01:08:43.040
It is a stamina problem.
1049
01:08:43.261 --> 01:08:43.441
Yeah.
1050
01:08:43.621 --> 01:08:52.184
I think we can't use the skill issue the way I interpreted it, at least as an excuse anymore, because money education is now more readily available.
1051
01:08:52.304 --> 01:08:53.364
Like if you want to learn, it's there.
1052
01:08:53.564 --> 01:08:54.044
But it is.
1053
01:08:54.064 --> 01:08:57.406
But it's also like confusing and there's too much of it and there's information overload.
1054
01:08:57.426 --> 01:08:58.486
But now there's Ask Dolly.
1055
01:08:58.546 --> 01:08:59.226
Now there's Ask Dolly.
1056
01:08:59.286 --> 01:08:59.726
That's fair.
1057
01:09:00.166 --> 01:09:04.048
I think that's the biggest issue with all online education, free or otherwise.
1058
01:09:04.068 --> 01:09:07.029
There's just so much of it that it is overwhelming.
1059
01:09:07.109 --> 01:09:10.770
And that's why I did not want this to be like...
1060
01:09:11.610 --> 01:09:17.963
another mega dump like i only think that you should be getting your information from reputable sources
1061
01:09:18.634 --> 01:09:20.896
I also think that the issue is twofold.
1062
01:09:21.296 --> 01:09:24.758
It's that there's too much information, but also there's not enough action.
1063
01:09:25.759 --> 01:09:32.304
So like the other side of the coin is if people ask, use Ask Dolly, or Ask Dolly, I guess.
1064
01:09:32.344 --> 01:09:41.090
If people ask Dolly and they don't do what Dolly actually says and they're just, you know, they're researching, they're researching, they're accumulating information.
1065
01:09:41.130 --> 01:09:42.611
They don't actually do anything but information.
1066
01:09:42.651 --> 01:09:44.092
It's also not going to benefit their life.
1067
01:09:44.132 --> 01:09:47.695
And I think that's like this idea of like the knowing doing gap
1068
01:09:48.455 --> 01:09:53.118
I find it so fascinating how people are so good at collecting information, especially people that listen to this show.
1069
01:09:53.718 --> 01:10:00.642
People that are like, you know, they get dopamine hits from reading books and listening to podcasts and using tools like Ask Dolly to figure out how to improve their life.
1070
01:10:00.762 --> 01:10:02.283
But then they don't do anything.
1071
01:10:02.744 --> 01:10:05.665
And that is like the X factor in a good life.
1072
01:10:06.066 --> 01:10:11.409
So in the same way that certain apps have gamified negative behaviors like placing a bet.
1073
01:10:12.269 --> 01:10:17.531
Ask Dolly has gamified and made it exciting to like actually do right by your money.
1074
01:10:18.551 --> 01:10:20.632
We offer lots of to do lists, checklists.
1075
01:10:20.692 --> 01:10:24.053
Like I want you to get a dopamine hit every time you make a really smart choice.
1076
01:10:24.633 --> 01:10:29.275
You should be rewarded by your own brain every time you do something good for yourself.
1077
01:10:29.815 --> 01:10:31.375
Not every time you place a sports bet.
1078
01:10:31.415 --> 01:10:34.496
Not every time that you execute a day trade.
1079
01:10:34.657 --> 01:10:37.277
There should not be confetti on the confirmation page.
1080
01:10:38.318 --> 01:10:38.878
That's nuts.
1081
01:10:39.384 --> 01:10:42.625
What's the worst financial advice you're still hearing in 2026?
1082
01:10:42.745 --> 01:10:50.348
I think the worst advice that I'm still hearing is that you can like hard work your way there.
1083
01:10:50.368 --> 01:10:52.408
Like hostile cultures.
1084
01:10:52.588 --> 01:10:53.469
Is that still a thing?
1085
01:10:53.589 --> 01:10:54.649
Yeah, I think so.
1086
01:10:55.549 --> 01:10:58.150
Like the people who are like, you're not working hard enough.
1087
01:10:58.170 --> 01:10:59.070
You're not doing this enough.
1088
01:10:59.090 --> 01:11:02.131
And it's like, no, you have to be more strategic about it.
1089
01:11:02.232 --> 01:11:05.893
It's like there's earners and owners like.
1090
01:11:06.993 --> 01:11:11.836
Earning can only get you so far unless you're making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
1091
01:11:12.396 --> 01:11:18.100
And in which case, great for you, but then you really got to start owning to make your money work harder for you.
1092
01:11:18.800 --> 01:11:22.303
Earners make money and they're taxed at ordinary income rates.
1093
01:11:22.863 --> 01:11:28.707
Whereas owners, people who own stocks, people who own bonds, people who own property, people who own companies...
1094
01:11:29.687 --> 01:11:39.808
are taxed more favorably, so less, but also they make money while they sleep versus you physically having to put in the physical or mental labor to make the money.
1095
01:11:41.143 --> 01:11:52.931
Now investing is a whole other podcast, but when somebody is starting to, and I think that's where, I mean, some of the audience, obviously they're heavily invested, but the advice can be for somebody who's starting out.
1096
01:11:53.711 --> 01:11:56.433
There's so many different opportunities to invest.
1097
01:11:57.254 --> 01:11:59.295
And I guess coming from you, it's not financial advice.
1098
01:11:59.335 --> 01:12:02.157
If you ask Dolly, it can be financial advice, but coming from you, it's not.
1099
01:12:03.597 --> 01:12:10.098
What is your observation as to maybe a good place to start thinking about how to invest?
1100
01:12:10.138 --> 01:12:13.319
Is it investing in things that pay dividends?
1101
01:12:13.599 --> 01:12:14.619
Is it diversifying?
1102
01:12:14.679 --> 01:12:18.020
Is it putting money into one thing that you know better than anything else?
1103
01:12:18.040 --> 01:12:19.900
Just like the mental model around investing.
1104
01:12:20.140 --> 01:12:29.682
That's exactly why we built Dolly, because the answer is different based on who you are, how much money you currently have, how much money you make, what your risk tolerance is, and what your timeline is.
1105
01:12:29.702 --> 01:12:30.842
So...
1106
01:12:33.304 --> 01:12:41.255
Typically, for most people, the easiest gateway drug to investing is something very simple, such as the equity markets, the bond markets.
1107
01:12:43.017 --> 01:12:50.627
But the amount of what you're investing in and what investments you're making are entirely dependent on your time horizon.
1108
01:12:51.568 --> 01:12:55.270
So if you got 40 years before retirement, let's get nuts.
1109
01:12:55.730 --> 01:12:59.152
Like, let us focus on some growth opportunities.
1110
01:12:59.632 --> 01:13:02.694
We're not that worried about downturns and dips because you got a long, long timeline.
1111
01:13:03.274 --> 01:13:05.615
But if you're like, hey, I'm only investing for 15 years.
1112
01:13:05.855 --> 01:13:06.796
I need that money back.
1113
01:13:07.928 --> 01:13:15.490
We can't be playing around like that because what if it ends up being timed that right is when you need the money, we go into a little bit of a downturn.
1114
01:13:16.010 --> 01:13:16.890
Then you're in a bad spot.
1115
01:13:18.891 --> 01:13:22.631
So it's really, really personal dependent.
1116
01:13:23.292 --> 01:13:28.653
And then from there, I would say you can add on other types of investments that are less liquid.
1117
01:13:28.893 --> 01:13:35.494
So things like property or private equity or more esoteric investments, higher risk, higher reward.
1118
01:13:38.636 --> 01:13:39.836
crypto a little bit.
1119
01:13:40.277 --> 01:13:42.939
I don't recommend crypto be a large percentage of your portfolio.
1120
01:13:42.959 --> 01:13:45.901
But if you want to be it, if you want it to be a small portion, sure.
1121
01:13:47.022 --> 01:13:52.966
You can also consider as you get to get a little bit older, lower risk, lower reward investments.
1122
01:13:53.446 --> 01:14:05.015
So things like CDs, things like treasuries, that way you have a little bit of a dependable amount that you know you're going to get if your money is locked up for a certain period of time.
1123
01:14:05.385 --> 01:14:07.206
I think the future is personalized.
1124
01:14:07.226 --> 01:14:09.568
I think that's a very important idea.
1125
01:14:09.588 --> 01:14:16.713
I think it's so important because whether or not it's with legal advice, financial advice, health advice.
1126
01:14:18.412 --> 01:14:22.855
The one takeaway is if you listen to somebody online, they're going to give you advice.
1127
01:14:22.895 --> 01:14:27.299
And some of them are very well-meaning, but it doesn't mean that that advice is perfect for your situation.
1128
01:14:28.019 --> 01:14:32.883
And I think that has always been my issue with, you know, the quote unquote influencers.
1129
01:14:33.063 --> 01:14:40.248
It's not everybody, not every influencer is like this, but some are just like, this is the only way to make money or to build wealth or to invest.
1130
01:14:40.268 --> 01:14:41.089
And I think that's toxic.
1131
01:14:41.109 --> 01:14:42.970
I think that hurts more than it helps to be quite honest.
1132
01:14:43.130 --> 01:14:51.253
In the lowest stakes version of that, think about your favorite beauty influencers like, oh, my gosh, this is the best lip gloss and you put it on and it does nothing for you.
1133
01:14:51.733 --> 01:14:54.855
Like that is the lowest possible stakes situation.
1134
01:14:55.575 --> 01:15:03.058
But if you but if there's not one number one lip gloss for everybody, what would make you think there's one number one investment for everybody?
1135
01:15:03.158 --> 01:15:06.219
That's a much higher stakes, much more complex conversation.
1136
01:15:06.459 --> 01:15:07.920
So just winding down.
1137
01:15:09.847 --> 01:15:15.030
People looking towards the future of the economy, of their own personal finance.
1138
01:15:15.790 --> 01:15:16.790
Are you optimistic?
1139
01:15:16.951 --> 01:15:18.691
Are you pessimistic?
1140
01:15:18.791 --> 01:15:27.016
What do you think the average person is going to be dealing with in the next five to 10 years in terms of their personal finances?
1141
01:15:27.296 --> 01:15:29.557
I think it's going to get worse before it gets better.
1142
01:15:31.838 --> 01:15:35.860
We are going to see finances get very hard for many people.
1143
01:15:37.245 --> 01:15:38.667
I do think there's going to be a reckoning.
1144
01:15:39.768 --> 01:15:43.673
Like, we cannot continue down this path.
1145
01:15:44.174 --> 01:15:45.716
People need to be able to afford groceries.
1146
01:15:47.652 --> 01:15:58.799
The top, top 0.1% cannot be sucking up so much of the wealth in this country and then hoarding it and not redeploying it back into the economy.
1147
01:15:58.819 --> 01:16:08.865
I think we will see a really large wealth transfer over the next decade or two, especially as boomers are starting to die.
1148
01:16:09.005 --> 01:16:09.546
Sorry.
1149
01:16:09.866 --> 01:16:10.486
Somebody had to say it.
1150
01:16:11.087 --> 01:16:16.330
But as that great wealth transfer happens, when those dollars get into different hands, like –
1151
01:16:16.850 --> 01:16:18.231
Will people make smart decisions?
1152
01:16:18.391 --> 01:16:18.971
I don't know.
1153
01:16:19.471 --> 01:16:20.212
I hope so.
1154
01:16:20.632 --> 01:16:22.433
I hope it changes a lot of people's lives.
1155
01:16:23.093 --> 01:16:40.103
And I hope that we are able to use our vote and our voice appropriately to represent, you know, to to elect representatives that are actually going to fight for the everyday person that is going to fight for the middle class, that is going to try their very, very best to start to close politics.
1156
01:16:40.903 --> 01:16:46.395
the wealth gap and to actually rebuild this middle class because it's getting compressed right now.
1157
01:16:48.259 --> 01:16:50.985
And then in terms of, you know...
1158
01:16:52.688 --> 01:16:58.770
the general world, like not just necessarily like how wallets will be over the next couple of years.
1159
01:16:59.310 --> 01:17:00.651
I'd like to say I'm optimistic.
1160
01:17:00.991 --> 01:17:02.171
There's a Bill Clinton quote.
1161
01:17:02.892 --> 01:17:06.693
Everything that's wrong with this country can be fixed by everything that's right.
1162
01:17:07.613 --> 01:17:17.397
And I think that that is my perspective as well, is like there is so much division and hate and rage right now.
1163
01:17:18.437 --> 01:17:34.511
But I think if we can actually address some of these financial inequalities, like making sure that people can put food on their tables and they feel like they can get ahead and they feel like they can get what was promised to them if they work hard and they're good people.
1164
01:17:36.513 --> 01:17:38.235
Maybe we'd hate each other a little less.
1165
01:17:38.715 --> 01:17:39.756
Where can people connect with you?
1166
01:17:40.477 --> 01:17:41.738
Where can people go find Ask Dolly?
1167
01:17:41.978 --> 01:17:44.040
Where do you want to put all the links in the show notes, too?
1168
01:17:44.713 --> 01:17:47.095
You can find me everywhere as your Rich BFF.
1169
01:17:47.255 --> 01:17:53.740
And please go download Ask Dolly on the App Store or you can check it out at askdolly.com.
1170
01:17:54.180 --> 01:18:00.144
The last thing that I just need to ask you because you said the future is tumultuous in the short term.
1171
01:18:00.725 --> 01:18:08.390
But I need you to give some words of inspiration and closing advice to people who are listening right now just so they can ride out the short term.
1172
01:18:08.671 --> 01:18:11.873
And hopefully in the long term, they'll be in a little bit better situation.
1173
01:18:12.100 --> 01:18:13.620
If you've done it once, you can do it again.
1174
01:18:14.221 --> 01:18:15.101
I really do believe that.
1175
01:18:15.301 --> 01:18:32.686
And I think that we need to really, really think about our local communities, our immediate families, and what we can each independently do to make things better and lean on each other to make those things better.
1176
01:18:32.706 --> 01:18:39.948
We, yes, focus on what's happening out here because it's important to be apprised of what's happening.
1177
01:18:40.448 --> 01:18:40.708
But...
1178
01:18:41.848 --> 01:18:50.423
Really lock in on the people you care about most and what can we do in our neighborhood, in our community, in our backyard to make a difference, to make it easier on everybody.
1179
01:18:50.884 --> 01:18:52.106
And how can we care for each other?
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